PHOTO: Courtesy of WLUK
WAUSAU, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers is standing by his state budget, which includes changing some of the gendered language in a section about artificial insemination.
It includes changing the term “mother” to “inseminated person” and “husband” to “spouse.”
“All this does (is) it gives people a chance that are using IVF — which, I think Republicans are kind of OK with that — have legal certainty about a mom being able to have a year worth of care,” Evers, a Democrat, said during an event in Wausau Monday.
The changes came to light over the weekend.
They drew the attention of many Republican elected officials.
“If I called my mother an inseminated person, she’d probably slap me for good reason,” said State Sen. Andre Jacque, R-De Pere. “We hear a lot about woke virtue signaling. I think this is probably the best example of that I’ve ever seen.”
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, issued this statement:
Once again our woke DEI-loving Governor reminds us just how liberal and out of touch today’s Democratic Party really is. Republicans will never allow mothers in Wisconsin to be referred to as anything other than ‘mother’.
Former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre weighed in, calling the changes “nonsense” in a post on the social media platform X.
Evers fired back at critics Monday.
“What the Republicans say is a lie, so of course I’m pretty P.O.ed about that,” he said. “Moms are moms, dads are dads, and what we want is legal certainty that moms are able to get the care they need.”
Jacque doesn’t believe Evers’ explanation for why changes are needed is valid.
“I’ve never heard that explanation,” said Jacque. “That has never been presented. Did he actually call them mothers when he said that? Because if he understands the term as easily as you and I do now, there certainly would be no call for him to change it in the statutes.”
Evers wants to change other parts of state law, as well. One state Republican lawmaker counted at least 30 times mother is replaced with a gender-neutral term. Father was subbed out more than 120 times.
Evers says he’d be willing to present his changes in a separate bill. Republicans say they won’t be considered.
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