One of my favorite games is Balderdash. In this great word game, the players try to write believable definitions to real words that most people have never heard of. You want to write your definition so well that everyone will vote for yours as the real definition of the word. Sad to say, a recent bill proposed in the State Senate reminds me very much of this game. Authors and co-sponsors of Senate Bill 232 are trying to get Wisconsin citizens to vote for their definition of abortion, while replacing the true definition.

It appears authors Senate Majority Leader Judith Robson and Assembly Representative Christine Sinicki want to cover up what abortion truly is, the destruction of human life. Since 1977, our Wisconsin law has stated that an abortion is the intentional destruction of “the life of an unborn child, and unborn child means a human being from the time of conception until it is born alive.”

This definition is absolutely correct. Human embryology is so advanced that there is now no doubt that a new human being is created at the moment of conception. Implantation, while necessary for the growth of the human being, is not necessary for the creation of the human life. However, supporters of SB 232 must avoid acknowledging the beginning of life as the moment of conception or fertilization because then abortion in any form, physical or chemical, is murdering a human being.

SB 232 is all about redefining and desensitizing. The proposed definition in this bill is that abortion would be “the intentional destruction of an embryo or fetus, but does not include the use, administration, delivery, prescribing, or dispensing of any federal-food-and-drug-administration-approved contraceptive.” This definition is absolutely frightening. In one fell-swoop, the real faces—the faces of real human babies—are removed from the discussion. These tiny humans are nothing more than “uterine contents.” Proponents of SB 232 must keep life and abortion nameless and faceless.

This is seen in the reasoning behind SB 232, as well as in the opposition to initiatives throughout the country that would require abortion clinics to at least offer a woman the choice to view an ultrasound of her baby before she decides to kill it. Opponents of these initiatives understand that if the mother views an ultrasound, she will vividly see the truth, that what is in her womb is not a blob of tissue or the product of conception, but a human baby—her baby.

And it’s oh-so-true: a picture is worth a thousand words! Option Ultrasound Programs in 319 clinics in 46 states throughout the Union have already had great results. Eighty-eight percent of women at risk for an abortion have left the clinics where these programs are in place with the intention to carry their babies to term, and an estimated 45,000 babies have been saved as of mid-July. Abortion proponents know that redefining abortion to cover up reality is absolutely necessary if society is to continue allowing women the ability to choose to end their pregnancies.

Covering up reality is also what is happening when women are told that the so-called “morning-after pill,” also known as emergency contraception, doesn’t ever destroy human life. The truth emergency contraception can prevent implantation of the fertilized egg. Preventing implantation is the destruction of human life, which means a baby has been aborted. SB 232 would remove any and all contraceptive medicines that have been approved by the Federal Food and Drug Administration from the list of methods that can kill an unborn child, including emergency contraception.

What SB 232 does do well is to once again highlight the heart of the abortion debate, when does life begin? The scientific argument is already won; we dare not allow politicians and pro-abortionists to win the public argument.

SB 232 also deals with requiring pharmacists to dispense any FDA-approved contraceptive a woman has a prescription for, based on the redefinitions in the bill. The only way to require pro-life pharmacists to violate their consciences is to play the word game. And no one is better at that game than liberal politicians.

Quite frankly and very sadly, Senate Bill 232 is a lot of balderdash. If it were only a game, that would be one thing. But redefining human life and abortion is definitely not a game. And even if it were a game, the stakes in this game are not faceless. What’s at stake here is human babies with very real faces.

For Wisconsin Family Council, I’m Julaine Appling reminding you the Prophet Hosea said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”