253.10(6)(a)(a) A person who violates
sub. (3) or
(3m) (a) 2. or
(b) 2. is liable to the woman on or for whom the abortion was performed or induced for damages arising out of the performance or inducement of the abortion, including damages for personal injury and emotional and psychological distress.
253.10(6)(b)
(b) A person who has been awarded damages under
par. (a) shall, in addition to any damages awarded under
par. (a), be entitled to not less than $1,000 nor more than $10,000 in punitive damages for a violation that satisfies a standard under
s. 895.043 (3).
253.10(6)(c)
(c) A conviction under
sub. (5) is not a condition precedent to bringing an action, obtaining a judgment or collecting the judgment under this subsection.
253.10(6)(d)
(d) Notwithstanding
s. 814.04 (1), a person who recovers damages under
par. (a) or
(b) may also recover reasonable attorney fees incurred in connection with the action.
253.10(6)(e)
(e) A contract is not a defense to an action under this subsection.
253.10(6)(f)
(f) Nothing in this subsection limits the common law rights of a person that are not in conflict with
sub. (3).
253.10(7)
(7) Affirmative defense. No person is liable under
sub. (5) or
(6) or under
s. 441.07 (1) (f),
448.02 (3) (a), or
457.26 (2) (gm) for failure under
sub. (3) (c) 2. d. to provide the printed materials described in
sub. (3) (d) to a woman or for failure under
sub. (3) (c) 2. d.,
e.,
f.,
fm., or
g. to describe the contents of the printed materials if the person has made a reasonably diligent effort to obtain the printed materials under
sub. (3) (e) and
s. 46.245 and the department and the county department under
s. 46.215,
46.22, or
46.23 have not made the printed materials available at the time that the person is required to give them to the woman.
253.10(7m)
(7m) Confidentiality in court proceedings. 253.10(7m)(a)(a) In every proceeding brought under this section, the court, upon motion or sua sponte, shall rule whether the identity of any woman upon whom an abortion was performed or induced or attempted to be performed or induced shall be kept confidential unless the woman waives confidentiality. If the court determines that a woman's identity should be kept confidential, the court shall issue orders to the parties, witnesses, and counsel and shall direct the sealing of the record and exclusion of individuals from courtrooms or hearing rooms to the extent necessary to safeguard the woman's identity from public disclosure. If the court issues an order to keep a woman's identity confidential, the court shall provide written findings explaining why the woman's identity should be kept confidential, why the order is essential to that end, how the order is narrowly tailored to its purpose, and why no reasonable less restrictive alternative exists.
253.10(7m)(b)
(b) Any person, except for a public official, who brings an action under this section shall do so under a pseudonym unless the person obtains the written consent of the woman upon whom an abortion was performed or induced, or attempted to be performed or induced, in violation of this section.
253.10(7m)(c)
(c) The section may not be construed to allow the identity of a plaintiff or a witness to be concealed from the defendant.
253.10(8)
(8) Construction. Nothing in this section may be construed as creating or recognizing a right to abortion or as making lawful an abortion that is otherwise unlawful.
253.10 AnnotationSection 253.10 (3) (c) 1. j. is unconstitutional. Karlin v. Foust,
975 F. Supp. 1177 (1997). This holding was not subject to the appeal in Karlin v. Foust,
188 F.3d 446.
253.10 Annotation
Sub. (2) (d) is constitutional and preempts the operation of s. 48.374 (5) (b) 1. in the case of emergency abortions for minors. Sub. (3) (c) 2. is constitutional; physicians may rely on their "best medical judgment" in delivering the content to be conveyed to the patient on the specific listed topics and cannot be held liable because prosecutors disagree with information provided to a woman on a certain topic. Sub. (3) (c) 1. g. is constitutional. Karlin v. Foust,
188 F.3d 446 (7th Cir. 1999).
253.105
253.105
Prescription and use of abortion-inducing drugs. 253.105(2)
(2) No person may give an abortion-inducing drug to a woman unless the physician who prescribed, or otherwise provided, the abortion-inducing drug for the woman:
253.105(2)(b)
(b) Is physically present in the room when the drug is given to the woman.
253.105(3)
(3) Penalty. Any person who violates
sub. (2) is guilty of a Class I felony. No penalty may be assessed against a woman to whom an abortion-inducing drug is given.
253.105(4)(a)(a) Any of the following persons has a claim against a person who intentionally or recklessly violates
sub. (2):
253.105(4)(a)1.
1. A woman to whom an abortion-inducing drug was given in violation of
sub. (2).
253.105(4)(a)2.
2. If the abortion-inducing drug was given to a minor in violation of
sub. (2), a parent or guardian of the minor.
253.105(4)(a)3.
3. The father of the unborn child aborted as the result of an abortion-inducing drug given in violation of
sub. (2), unless the pregnancy of the person to whom the abortion-inducing drug was given was the result of sexual assault in violation of
s. 940.225,
944.06,
948.02,
948.025,
948.06,
948.085, or
948.09 and the violation was committed by the father.
253.105(4)(b)1.
1. Damages arising out of the inducement of the abortion, including damages for personal injury and emotional and psychological distress.
253.105(4)(c)
(c) Notwithstanding
s. 814.04 (1), a person who recovers damages under this subsection may also recover reasonable attorney fees incurred in connection with the action.
253.105(4)(d)
(d) A conviction under
sub. (3) is not a condition precedent to bringing an action, obtaining a judgment, or collecting a judgment under this subsection.
253.105(4)(e)
(e) A contract is not a defense to an action under this subsection.
253.105(4)(f)
(f) Nothing in this section limits the common law rights of a person that are not in conflict with
sub. (2).
253.105(5)
(5) Confidentiality in court proceedings. 253.105(5)(a)(a) In every proceeding brought under this section, the court, upon motion or sua sponte, shall rule whether the identity of any woman upon whom an abortion was induced or attempted to be induced shall be kept confidential unless the woman waives confidentiality. If the court determines that a woman's identity should be kept confidential, the court shall issue orders to the parties, witnesses, and counsel and shall direct the sealing of the record and exclusion of individuals from courtrooms or hearing rooms to the extent necessary to safeguard the woman's identity from public disclosure. If the court issues an order to keep a woman's identity confidential, the court shall provide written findings explaining why the woman's identity should be kept confidential, why the order is essential to that end, how the order is narrowly tailored to its purpose, and why no reasonable less restrictive alternative exists.
253.105(5)(b)
(b) Any person, except for a public official, who brings an action under this section shall do so under a pseudonym unless the person obtains the written consent of the woman upon whom an abortion was induced, or attempted to be induced, in violation of this section.
253.105(5)(c)
(c) The section may not be construed to allow the identity of a plaintiff or a witness to be concealed from the defendant.
253.105(6)
(6) Construction. Nothing in this section may be construed as creating or recognizing a right to abortion or as making lawful an abortion that is otherwise unlawful.
253.105 History
History: 2011 a. 217.
253.11
253.11
Infant blindness. 253.11(1)(1) For the prevention of ophthalmia neonatorum or infant blindness the attending physician or midwife shall use a prophylactic agent approved by the department.
253.11(2)
(2) In a confinement not attended by a physician or nurse-midwife, if one or both eyes of an infant become inflamed, swollen and red or show an unnatural discharge at any time within 2 weeks after birth, the nurse, parents, or other person in charge shall report the facts in writing within 6 hours to the local health officer who shall immediately warn the person of the danger. The local health officer shall employ at the expense of the local health department a competent physician to examine and treat the case.
253.11(3)
(3) Any person who violates this section may be required to forfeit not more than $1,000.
253.11 History
History: 1979 c. 221;
1987 a. 332;
1993 a. 27 s.
314; Stats. 1993 s. 253.11.
253.115
253.115
Newborn hearing screening. 253.115(1)(a)
(a) "Hearing loss" means an inability in one or both ears to detect sounds at 30 decibels hearing level or greater in the frequency region of 500 to 4,000 hertz that affects speech recognition and auditory comprehension.
253.115(1)(b)
(b) "Hertz" means a unit of frequency equal to one cycle per second.
253.115(1)(d)
(d) "Infant" means a child from birth to 3 months of age.
253.115(1)(e)
(e) "Newborn hearing screening program" means a system of a hospital under which an infant may be tested, using currently available medical techniques, to determine if the infant has a hearing loss.
253.115(2)
(2) Screening program report. Beginning July 1, 2002, the department shall annually collect information from hospitals for the previous calendar year concerning the numbers of deliveries in each hospital and the availability in each hospital of a newborn hearing screening program. From this information, by July 31, 2003, and annually thereafter, the department shall determine the percentage of deliveries in this state that are performed in hospitals that have newborn hearing screening programs and shall report this information to the appropriate standing committees of the legislature under
s. 13.172 (3).
253.115(3)
(3) Hospital screening program. If, by August 5, 2003, the department determines that fewer than 88% of all deliveries in this state are performed in hospitals that have a newborn hearing screening program and so notifies the hospitals, every hospital shall, by January 1, 2004, have a newborn hearing screening program that is available to all infants who are delivered in the hospital.
253.115(4)
(4) Screening required. Except as provided in
sub. (6), the physician, nurse-midwife licensed under
s. 441.15, or certified professional midwife licensed under
s. 440.982 who attended the birth shall ensure that the infant is screened for hearing loss before being discharged from a hospital, or within 30 days of birth if the infant was not born in a hospital.
253.115(5)
(5) Referral to follow-up services. The department shall provide referrals to intervention programs for hearing loss.
253.115(6)(a)(a) Subsection (4) does not apply if the parents or legal guardian of the child object to a screen for hearing loss on the grounds that the test conflicts with their religious tenets and practices.
253.115(6)(b)
(b) No screening may be performed under
sub. (4) unless the parents or legal guardian are fully informed of the purposes of a screen for hearing loss and have been given reasonable opportunity to object under
par. (a) to the screen.
253.115(7)(a)(a) The physician, nurse-midwife licensed under
s. 441.15, or certified professional midwife licensed under
s. 440.982 who is required to ensure that the infant is screened for hearing loss under
sub. (4) shall do all of the following:
253.115(7)(a)1.
1. Ensure the parents or legal guardian are advised of the screening results.
253.115(7)(a)2.
2. If the infant has an abnormal hearing screening result, ensure the parents or legal guardian are provided information on available resources for diagnosis and treatment of hearing loss.
253.115(7)(a)3.
3. Send to the state laboratory of hygiene board screening results and the infant's risk factors to contract a hearing loss.
253.115(7)(b)
(b) The state laboratory of hygiene board shall send the information provided under
par. (a) 3. to the department.
253.115(8)
(8) Confidentiality. Except as provided under
sub. (7) (a) 3. and
(b), no information obtained under this section from the parents or legal guardian may be disclosed except for use in statistical data compiled by the department without reference to the identity of any individual and except as provided in
s. 146.82 (2).
253.12
253.12
Birth defect prevention and surveillance system. 253.12(1)(a)
(a) "Birth defect" means any of the following conditions affecting an infant or child that occurs prior to or at birth and that requires medical or surgical intervention or interferes with normal growth and development:
253.12(1)(b)
(b) "Pediatric specialty clinic" means a clinic the primary purpose of which is to provide pediatric specialty diagnostic, counseling and medical management services to persons with birth defects by a physician subspecialist.
253.12(1)(c)
(c) "Infant or child" means a human being from birth to the age of 2 years.
253.12(2)(a)(a) Except as provided in
par. (b), all of the following shall report in the manner prescribed by the department under
sub. (3) (a) 3. a birth defect in an infant or child:
253.12(2)(a)1.
1. A pediatric specialty clinic in which the birth defect is diagnosed in an infant or child or treatment for the birth defect is provided to the infant or child.
253.12(2)(a)2.
2. A physician who diagnoses the birth defect or provides treatment to the infant or child for the birth defect.
253.12(2)(am)
(am) Any hospital in which a birth defect is diagnosed in an infant or child or treatment is provided to the infant or child may report the birth defect in the manner prescribed by the department under
sub. (3) (a) 3.
253.12(2)(b)
(b) No person specified under
par. (a) need report under
par. (a) if that person knows that another person specified under
par. (a) or
(am) has already reported to the department the required information with respect to the same birth defect of the same infant or child.
253.12(2)(c)
(c) If the department determines that there is a discrepancy in any data reported under this subsection, the department may request a physician, hospital or pediatric specialty clinic to provide to the department information contained in the medical records of patients who have a confirmed or suspected birth defect diagnosis. The physician, hospital or pediatric specialty clinic shall provide that information within 10 working days after the department requests it.
253.12(2)(d)
(d) The department may not require a person specified under
par. (a) 1. or
2. to report the name of an infant or child for whom a report is made under
par. (a) if the parent or guardian of the infant or child refuses to consent in writing to the release of the name or address of the infant or child.
253.12(2)(e)
(e) If the address of an infant or child for whom a report is made under
par. (a) is included in the report, the department shall encode the address to refer to the same geographical location.
253.12(3)(a)(a) The department shall do all of the following:
253.12(3)(a)1.
1. Establish and maintain an up-to-date registry that documents the diagnosis in this state of any infant or child who has a birth defect, regardless of the residence of the infant or child. The department shall include in the registry information that will facilitate all of the following:
