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Madison - Schools that teach sex education would have to tell students that abstinence is the only reliable way to prevent pregnancy under a bill headed to Gov. Scott Walker.

The Assembly approved the measure early Wednesday, after approving a bill putting restrictions on some insurance coverage for abortions. Lawmakers were also to consider new limits that would prevent doctors from providing abortion drugs remotely through the use of web cameras.

The moves on two hot-button social issues come after legislators, in a session touted for its focus on creating jobs, failed to pass a bill last week to streamline iron ore mining that supporters said would create thousands of good-paying jobs. Earlier this year, efforts to pump money into venture capital to spur the economy fizzled out.

The mining and venture capital legislation had been the top jobs bills this year for Republicans who control the Legislature.

Now, they have turned their attention elsewhere, and the abortion and sex education bills were among the crush of bills they debated Tuesday into early Wednesday. State representatives plan to return Thursday for a final — likely overnight — session

"Here we are and we're talking about continuing the war on women instead of addressing this issue" of the economy, said Rep. Donna Seidel (D-Wausau). "We're not doing what people were hoping."

But those who back the measures noted they took up just a small part of the GOP agenda during the two- year legislative agenda.

"It's living proof that they can walk and chew gum at the same time," said Julaine Appling, president of Wisconsin Family Action, a group that backs the abortion and sex education bills.

She noted Republicans were able to approve a host of major changes to state policy, including balancing the state budget, allowing citizens to carry concealed weapons and requiring voters to show photo ID at the polls - though the ID requirement has been stalled by the courts.

Representatives approved the sex education bill 60-34, with Reps. Peggy Krusick (D-Milwaukee) and Tony Staskunas (D-West Allis) joining all Republicans. The Senate approved it in November on a party-line vote and it now goes to Walker.

The measure would require schools that teach that subject to promote marriage and tell students that abstinence is the only reliable way to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. It would allow schools to teach abstinence-only courses, which have been banned in Wisconsin since 2010 under a law passed by Democrats when they controlled state government.

Current law requires sex education courses in public schools to be age-appropriate and comprehensive, covering issues such as sexually transmitted diseases and how to use birth control. Under that law, schools can choose not to offer sex education, but they cannot offer abstinence-only courses.

The bill the Assembly approved would repeal much of that law. Supporters said it would give school districts more of a say in writing their curricula.

"What we have now is a one-size-fits-all approach and that's not acceptable," said Rep. Jeremy Thiesfeldt (R-Fond du Lac). "It's essentially a my-way-or-the-highway curriculum for human growth and development. It's either comprehensive or nothing."

Democrats said changing the law could lead to spikes in sexually transmitted diseases and teen pregnancies.

"We are putting the lives of young people at risk," said Rep. Sandy Pasch (D-Whitefish Bay).

Opponents of the bill noted Milwaukee's teen birthrate dropped after the city and the United Way of Greater Milwaukee launched a program in 2008 that teaches young people about both abstinence and contraception. The city's birthrate dropped from 52 per 1,000 teens in 2006 to 35.7 per 1,000 in 2010.

Republicans countered that the drop in the teen birthrate was because Milwaukee Public Schools had put more of an emphasis on abstinence.

Under the bill, sexual education courses also would have to discuss parental responsibility and the socioeconomic benefits of marriage and explain pregnancy, prenatal development and childbirth.

Beyond that, the bill would recommend - but not mandate - other topics to be covered. Current law requires sex education courses to cover a range of subjects, such as anatomy, puberty, parenting, body image, the benefits of abstinence, marriage and family responsibility, the use of contraceptives and how drugs and alcohol affect decision-making.

The topics recommended by the bill would not include birth control, though schools could choose to teach about that on their own.

Abortion bills

Late Tuesday, the Assembly approved a bill 61-34 to prohibit the insurance plans to be offered in Wisconsin under the federal health care law from covering some abortions. The Senate approved the bill on a party-line, 17-16 vote in October, and it now goes to Walker.

Democrats railed against the bill.

"I feel like I'm in an episode of 'Mad Men' and we're somehow back in the 1950s," said Rep. Janet Bewley (D-Ashland). "This is a war on women."

Rep. Joel Kleefisch (R-Oconomowoc) tried to cast the bill in moral terms.

"We heard this is an attack on women, a war on women's rights," he said. "What about the rights of the women who have not yet been born?"

The bill would limit coverage of abortion to cases in which a doctor found it was needed to save the woman's life or prevent serious harm to her health, or to cases of sexual assault or incest that had been reported to police.

The federal health law passed in March 2010 by Democrats in Congress and President Barack Obama allows states to prohibit coverage of abortions by health plans offered through state exchanges.

The exchanges will serve as a marketplace where individuals and small businesses can shop for insurance coverage that for some consumers is subsidized by taxpayers. The exchanges are supposed to be set up by January 2014.

In another bill to be taken up Wednesday or Thursday, women could not receive drugs that induce abortions unless a doctor gives them a physical exam and is in the same room when they receive the drugs.

Abortion opponents say it would ensure that doctors aren't using web cameras to consult with women about the drugs to induce abortions and women aren't being pressured into receiving them. The Senate passed the bill 17-15 last month.

Foes of the legislation say the webcam technique is not used in Wisconsin, that state law already requires abortions to be voluntary, and that the bill is intended to make it harder for women to get an abortion.

The legislation also would require physicians to speak privately with women at least 24 hours in advance to give them information and to determine whether they were coerced into seeking an abortion. Physicians could face a felony for ignoring the new rules.

Lazich said the legislation removes a loophole in the law and ensures that women don't receive substandard care.

But Democrats say the bill amounts to a government intrusion into the relationship between physicians and their patients.

The bill also would repeal a state law making it illegal for a woman to have an abortion. That law hasn't been enforced because of the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision that struck down many state laws around the country restricting abortion. The state, however, would still keep on its books the part of the law making it illegal to provide an abortion.

The bill is supported by Wisconsin Family Action and Wisconsin Right to Life, which argue the state doesn't do enough to verify that abortions are voluntary. The Wisconsin Medical Society opposed the measure, saying it interferes with how physicians deal with their patients.