UPDATED Thursday, April 23, 2009 --- 11:00 a.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Anti-abortion advocates and Republican state senators want to block appointments of three people who support abortion rights to Wisconsin state boards.

The appointments were up for a vote Thursday in the state Senate.

Retired businessman Roger Axtell and attorney Mike Weiden have been nominated for the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority Board.

Opponents say they should be rejected because they supported a plan to perform some late-term abortions at a Madison clinic.

The hospital board voted in February to offer the abortions.

Anti-abortion advocates also oppose former Democratic state Rep. Sheldon Wasserman's appointment to the state's Medical Examining Board.

They say his support of abortion rights make him unfit to serve.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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UPDATED Friday, February 6, 2009 --- 4:30 p.m.

It's unanimous. With a 6-0 vote, late term, second trimester abortions will be performed at the Madison Surgery Center.

"These people who voted to do this today, their consciences are dead," said Pro-Life Wisconsin founder Rebecca Sande.

"I applaud their decision," added Pro-Choice Wisconsin member Lisa Subeck. "The surgery center board made the right decision."

It is now final, the Madison Surgery Center will perform late term abortions.

The clinic, where the abortions will occur, is run by the UW Hospital, the UW Medical Foundation and Meriter Hospital. It'll fill the void left over after doctor Dennis Christiansen retired in December. Since then, south-central Wisconsin has not had a doctor to perform abortions between 19 and 22 weeks of pregnancy.

Leading up to Friday's vote, protesters battled to sway heats and minds. And even though it's now over, the larger debate is not.

Lisa Subeck: "The supreme court 36 years ago now ruled on Roe v. Wade and determined it is a woman constitutional right and we stand by that."

Rebecca Sande: "Just because something is legal doesn't make it right. Slavery was legal. It was not right."

Lisa Subeck: "Up until 23 to 24 weeks a fetus could not live outside a woman's body. So clearly life hasn't begun if it is not a viable fetus."

Rebecca Sande: "The unborn child is a human being from the moment of conception. There is no other line we can rationally say that human life begins."

Lisa Subeck: "Clearly there are times when the life of the mother is in immediate danger and abortion do need to be performed."

Rebecca Sande: "Just the very fact that 6 people are supposed to be given the charge to protect human life can vote to destroy human life. It's heart breaking. It's disgusting."

Pro-Life Wisconsin is encouraging all of its 30,000 members to boycott the Madison Surgery Center and take their business elsewhere.

There is no word on when the abortions will begin.

A late term abortion is defined as any abortion performed after 20 weeks.
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UPDATED Friday, February 6, 2009 --- 11:15 a.m.

MIDDLETON, Wis. (AP) -- A clinic tied to the University of Wisconsin could soon start performing late-term abortions with Friday's approval from its board.

The Madison Surgery Center board voted 6-0 Friday morning to approve a plan to offer second-trimester abortions at the clinic run by UW Hospital, the UW Medical Foundation and Meriter Hospital.

The service is intended to make up for the December retirement of a Madison abortion doctor. In his absence, the Madison area has not had a provider who will perform abortions after 19 weeks.

UW Health spokeswoman Lisa Brunette says in a statement that Friday's vote means planning for the service will continue. She says it's not known yet when the abortions will start.

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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UPDATED Friday, February 6, 2009 --- 10:40 a.m.

The Madison Surgery Center board of directors today gave unanimous, final approval for a second-trimester abortion clinic at their 1 South Park Street facility.

Statement from the Madison Surgery Center
Feb. 6, 2009

The board of directors of the Madison Surgery Center voted today to allow pregnancy terminations in the second trimester at the MSC, a private joint venture of the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics, the University of Wisconsin Medical Foundation and Meriter Hospital. Second trimester pregnancy terminations were offered previously by Dr. Dennis Christensen, but those services became unavailable in Madison upon his retirement in December 2008.

The unanimous vote of the six-member board means that program planning will continue. It is not yet known when the services will be available for patients.

* * * * * * * * * * *

We'll be posting reaction from the various sides throughout the day.

This release from Coalition to Protect Women's Health & Safety:

Coalition Commends Area Health Care Leaders for Standing Up for Women’s Health. Access to Comprehensive Reproductive Health Care Secured in Dane County

Madison, WI – The Coalition to Protect Women’s Health & Safety commends the Madison Surgery Center Board for unanimously voting to provide second trimester abortions.

Following a public hearing and an 11 to 3 vote held by the UW Hospital and Clinic Authority Board on Wednesday, the final vote to provide services was taken by a six member board of the Madison Surgery Center today. Both the Meriter Hospital and the UW Medical Foundation boards had already voted to approve the proposal in late January.

“Area health leaders sent a clear message today that they will not compromise when it comes to women’s health care, “said Coalition member Sara Finger. “While abortion remains a very heated topic in public debate, credible medical organizations like the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Public Health Association and the World Health Organization all conclude that there is a direct link between access to abortion services and maternal health.”

The Coalition to Protect Women’s Health Women’s convened to help organize the hundreds of individuals who support the continuity of comprehensive reproductive health services in South Central Wisconsin. Women’s health advocates from across state banned together to support the proposal recognizing that without these services secured, women in certain untenable situations, such as those experiencing health problems in pregnancy, would have no where to go in the community.

“Through the coalition, hundreds of individuals spoke out in support of access to safe and legal second trimester abortions in Madison,” said Finger. “We heard from physicians, patients, faith leaders, business leaders, mothers, daughters, fathers - all advocating that women continue to receive the care they need and deserve.”

The coalition applauds the committed and compassionate health professionals from UW Foundation, UW Hospital and Meriter Hospital who recognized there was public-health responsibility to provide abortion care as part of comprehensive reproductive health care.

“It’s important to remember that at the core of this issue are real women with real stories of health care needs,” added Finger. “Today’s decision sends an important message that women’s health matters and that our community is willing to stand up to ensure that women’s health and safety is protected.

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This release from Wisconsin Family Council:

Votes this week by UW Hospital & Clinics Authority Board and Madison Surgery Center will have far-reaching effects and unintended consequences

Madison—“Killing babies, while legal, is most assuredly wrong. For the UW to have anything to do with this nefarious plan to do abortions on babies who are up to 22 weeks in development is outrageous. The UW has sold its soul for what? Money? Prestige? There is no rational explanation for this travesty,” said Julaine Appling, CEO of Wisconsin Family Council.

Wisconsin Family Council is part of a coalition of pro-life organizations that has been working to stop this plan to do these late second-trimester abortions at the Madison Surgery Center, a joint venture of the UW Hospital and Clinics, UW Medical Foundation and Meriter Hospital.

“We have been hearing from people all across this state who are even now making plans to change their health care—to have nothing to do with any UW hospital or clinic or the Madison Surgery Center. People are outraged. The final vote by the Madison Surgery Center this morning will just solidify their resolve,” noted Appling. “Some of the people contacting us are doctors who refer patients to UW hospitals, clinics and the Madison Surgery Center. They are appalled and have notified these organizations that they will no longer make such referrals.”

Tragically and terribly ironically, this morning’s national news told of an 18-year old girl in Florida who went to a facility for an abortion of her 23-week-old baby. While sitting in the chair waiting for the procedure in the abortion facility, she delivered the baby. A worker proceeded to cut the umbilical cord and tossed the live baby into a bag and discarded both. The baby’s mother has filed a law against the abortionist and the clinic owners.

“The UW and those who have voted to approve this plan are inviting such situations,” said Appling. “And, quite frankly, they would deserve any such lawsuit and the negative press and public reaction that would ensue. These organizations have ignored thousands of calls, tens of thousands of petitions, rallies, and testimonials. Not one of them can say they were not aware. They have created this situation and now they will face the consequences.”

Wisconsin Family Council is a statewide, not-for-profit organization advancing Judeo Christian principles and values in Wisconsin by strengthening and preserving marriage, family, life and liberty.

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This release from Pro-Life Wisconsin:

The Madison Surgery Center board of directors today gave unanimous, final approval for a second-trimester abortion practice at their 1 South Park Street facility. Both healthy and disabled babies 19 through 22 weeks old will be “terminated” by dilation and extraction (D&E), the standard abortion method used after 13 weeks whereby the cervix is dilated and the unborn child is dismembered with plier-like forceps. Force is needed to pull the baby apart.

The Madison Surgery Center is a joint venture of UW Hospital and Clinics, the UW Medical Foundation, and Meriter Hospital.

Peggy Hamill, Pro-Life Wisconsin’s state director, said, “Killing babies does not solve problems. Killing a baby is not the answer when that baby is faced with a life-threatening or even fatal condition. Killing a baby is not the answer when a pregnant mother is faced with a serious health problem. Killing babies should not be the final solution we have to offer.

“When we kill babies, it is a failure of our health care system and a failure of our intellects. When we kill babies it is a sign that consciences are dead. When consciences are dead, there is no limit to what we will not do.

“Not only will the UW and Meriter be engaged in killing almost viable and viable pre-born babies, they will now be training medical students in this grisly practice and exporting them to cities and towns throughout the country. When medical schools teach students how to kill, it is a failure of academia.

“The body parts of babies killed at the Madison Surgery Center will likely be used for UW research projects. This practice was condemned after the Holocaust. Using the bodies of innocent human beings for experimentation is a failure of science.

“Shame on the UW and shame on Meriter Hospital for this barbaric vote. You have failed to protect children and you have failed to support women.”

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UPDATED: Wednesday, February 4, 2009 --- 9:15 p.m.

MIDDLETON, Wis. (AP) -- The governing body of the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics has approved a plan to allow certain late-term abortions at an outpatient clinic.

After hearing three hours of emotional testimony from supporters and opponents Wednesday, the board voted 11-3 for the plan to provide abortions on women 19 to 22 weeks pregnant at the Madison Surgery Center.

UW Hospital, the UW Medical Foundation and Meriter Hospital are proposing the plan in the wake of the December retirement of a Madison abortion doctor. In his absence, the Madison area does not have a provider who will perform abortions after 19 weeks.

Supporters told board members the procedures are necessary to terminate pregnancy for a number of reasons, including fetal abnormalities, rape and incest.

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UPDATED: Wednesday, February 4, 2009 -- 9:15 p.m.
REPORTER: Chris Woodard

A UW Hospital proposal to perform second-trimester abortions at a local surgery center got another vote of approval today.

Amidst a firestorm of both protest and support the plan is moving forward to a final vote.

For all intents and purposes a decision has been made and unless there is an unexpected change of opinion second-trimester abortions in Madison will once again become a reality.

For weeks abortion protesters have been facing off, confronting each other, signing petitions and sending thousands of calls and emails to UW Hospital.

Wednesday their presence was once again obvious. Dozens of police officers taped off and guarded an administration building. Inside UW Hospital board members debate giving second-trimester abortions a vote of approval.

One board member says, "We are struggling with this issue and have struggled with this issue through this meeting."

Members of the public gave three hours of testimony. Some of the most compelling coming from a woman who herself had a second-trimester abortion and a doctor at the surgery center who says many would not be willing to perform the procedure.

A woman who asks only to be identified as Judy says, "When I lost my baby during the second-trimester I looked up to my god and my mother and asked her to open her arms and accept my baby, so if you think that I don't have feelings about that I do."

Doctor Nancy Fredricks who works at the Madison Surgery Center where the abortions would be performed says, "Morale is now at an all time low at Madison Surgery Center because many of the staff have been tormented by the thought of these abortions being done at their facility."

Ultimately board members voted 11-3 to support the abortion plans.

Board Chair David Walsh says, "I feel that we have to go ahead and approve this because we have a responsibility and can't be part of a conspiracy to deny a constitutional right."

Chris Taylor with Planned Parenthood says, "They really stood up for women's health. This is the right decision. This community really supports access to safe legal abortion care."

With one vote yet to go, opponents vow they will not rest.

Steve Karlen with Vigil for Life says, "Shock and horror, I won't even go with disappointment, shock and horror. For this board to take upon itself the authority to decide whether they live or die is arrogance that I've never seen before."

That final decision will be by the Madison Surgery Center board on February 25th. The six member board is made up of people on the three hospital boards that have already voted to approve the plans.

The impact this will have on the University of Wisconsin was also brought up several times Wednesday night.

Some suggest that this will taint the UW name and say there are many parents of students and donors who are upset with the plans.

Chancellor Biddy Martin is on the hospital board and did not address the issue but board chair, and member of the board of regents, David Walsh did.

He said, "This university has had difficulty with the politics and the price and the economics of just about every exercise of its first amendment freedoms and the teaching of controversial ideas and I'm willing to take that risk."

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UPDATED Wednesday, February 4, 2009 --- 2:40 p.m.

NBC15's Chris Woodard is attending this afternoon's meeting. He says more than 100 people are on the scene.

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UPDATED Wednesday, February 4, 2009 --- 7:20 a.m.

As we've reported, UW Hospitals and Clinics and Meriter Hospital are proposing a plan to offer second-trimester abortions at the Madison Surgery Center, which the hospitals jointly own.

This afternoon the UW Hospital board meets to consider the proposal. The board will vote on whether to support the proposed clinic.

Then the board of the Madison Surgery Center, which would run the clinic, will take up the issue on February 25th.

The boards of Meriter and the doctor group, the UW Medical Foundation, have decided to support the clinic.

**From UW Health regarding Wednesday's hearing:**
The UW Hospital governing board will meet Wednesday, Feb. 4 at 2 p.m. One of its agenda items is consideration of the proposal to provide second-trimester pregnancy terminations at the Madison Surgery Center. Given the public interest in this topic, the board has invited speakers representing both supporters and opponents of this proposal to make brief presentations at the meeting. Following these brief remarks and board discussion, the board will vote in open session on whether to approve the plan or not.

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UPDATED Saturday, January 31, 2009 --- 10:41 p.m.

People on both sides of the issue came out today to make their voices heard.

Meriter Hospital and UW Hospital have plans to open a second-trimester abortion clinic at the Madison Surgery Center.

The idea comes after the retirement of one doctor who used to perform the procedure.

"We're here to stand unequivocally for women's rights, women's health care, for all women," said Libby Belden, member of the International Socialist Organization. "Safe, legal and free is what we believe."

But those beliefs clashed with the pro-life who were also stating their case on the UW campus Saturday
.
"Some people think that a pregnancy could put the health of a mother at risk," said Adam Morse, member of 40 Days for Life. "They believe that by performing these abortions there will be some kind of common good to come out of it, which we don't believe."

Those with the International Socialist Organization say this would not be a new service, just a continuation of what a local doctor did before his retirement.

The Pro-Life coalition says it has given more than 20,000 signed petitions to Meriter in opposition to renewing the clinic at a new location.

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UPDATED Friday, January 30, 2009 --- 1:15 p.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- University of Wisconsin medical officials say they don't expect to make a profit by performing late-term abortions.

UW Hospitals and Clinics and Meriter Hospital are proposing a plan to offer second-trimester abortions at the Madison Surgery Center, which the hospitals jointly own.

UW Health spokeswoman Lisa Brunette says the university does not expect to generate revenue above expenses by performing the procedures.

She says the clinic might perform about 100 abortions per year, and many of the patients will likely be young and poor. She says some could be victims of rape and incest.

She says the driving force behind the plan is to fill a gap left by the retirement of a Madison doctor who performed abortions on women up to 22 weeks pregnant.

Opponents of the proposal are planning a rally in Madison tomorrow.

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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UPDATED Tuesday, January 27, 2009 --- 3:40 p.m.

Press Release from the WI Family Council:

Wisconsin Family Council contributes 6200 petitions to effort to prevent late-term abortions at UW-affiliated center

Madison, WI –“Wisconsin citizens aren’t interested in a UW-affiliated abortion facility, and they are speaking loudly and quickly on this issue,” said Julaine Appling, CEO of Wisconsin Family Council (WFC).

Members of a pro-life coalition announced today at a press conference in Madison that over 20,000 signatures have been collected from citizens around the state who are opposed to a plan that would result in late second-trimester abortions at the UW-affiliated Madison Surgery Center. The Center is a joint venture of UW Hospital and Clinics, Meriter Hospital and the UW Medical Foundation. The coalition includes Wisconsin Family Council, Wisconsin Right To Life, Pro-Life Wisconsin, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Madison, Christian Life Resources, Vigil for Life, Wisconsin Guild of the Catholic Medical Association, and the Christian Medical and Dental Association.

Speaking on behalf of WFC at the press conference today, Appling said, “We believe a strong Wisconsin comes by preserving and strengthening marriage, family, life and liberty. When government or major institutions determine that human life in its pre-born condition is a disposable commodity, all of us—and our state in general—are severely weakened and impoverished.”

“Signed petitions are still coming into our office,” noted Appling. “We collected these signatures in less than two weeks. It’s obvious that the people of this state want to send a clear message that such a plan will not happen on their watch without significant opposition to this plot against unborn babies.”

Wisconsin Family Council is a statewide, not-for-profit organization advancing Judeo Christian principles and values in Wisconsin by strengthening and preserving marriage, family, life and liberty.

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UPDATED Saturday, January 24, 2009 --- 9:50 p.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — More than two dozen Wisconsin lawmakers are asking the University of Wisconsin Hospital to drop a plan to provide late-term abortions at a private clinic.

Twenty-eight Republican senators and representatives and one independent signed a letter to Hospital CEO Donna Katen-Bahensky on Thursday. The letter calls second-trimester abortion a "barbaric" procedure and asks Katen-Bahensky to use her power to stop it.

Physicians at UW and Meriter hospitals have proposed performing the abortions for women between 13 and 22 weeks into their pregnancies at the Madison Surgery Center.

The plan's supporters say a doctor's December retirement has left the area without a second-trimester abortion provider.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.

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UPDATED Tuesday, January 6, 2009 --- 12:35 p.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Anti-abortion groups are condemning a University of Wisconsin plan to provide second-trimester abortions at a Madison clinic and questioning whether it's illegal.

UW Health spokeswoman Lisa Brunette says its gynecologists plan to begin performing abortions for patients between 13 and 22 weeks pregnant at the Madison Surgery Center. She says the plan needs final approval from the center's board, which could take action this month.

The Alliance Defense Fund is a Christian group that advocates for religious freedom. It publicized the plan today and sent a letter asking UW officials to stop it. The group says the plan might violate a state law that prohibits state or federal money from being used to pay doctors or clinics to perform abortions.

Brunette says state-paid doctors would provide the services but its lawyers are comfortable the plan is legal. She says the abortions themselves would be paid for by insurance and patient fees, not public money.

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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Posted Tuesday, January 6, 2009 --- 10:05 a.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A Christian legal group is calling on University of Wisconsin health officials to reconsider a plan to perform second-trimester abortions.

UW Health spokeswoman Lisa Brunette says its gynecologists plan to begin performing the abortions at the Madison Surgery Center.

She says the December retirement of Dr. Dennis Christensen has left no area clinic that performs such abortions and physicians believe there is a public health responsibility to do so.

The Alliance Defense Fund sent a letter Tuesday asking the hospital to halt the plan. The group says it is worried employees who object to abortion will be forced to take part in them.

Brunette says they will be allowed to opt out.

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.