Wisconsin state Rep. Chuck Wichgers (R-Muskego) speaks against a bill that would allow some types of birth control to be solve over-the-counter. (Screenshot from WisconsinEye)

In a rare act of bipartisanship, the Wisconsin Assembly passed a bill last week that would permit access to some forms of birth control without a doctor’s prescription — though patients would have to be over 18. The legislation passed with an 82-11 vote. The bill will now advance to the GOP-controlled state senate. 

Not everyone was pleased, however. In a rambling address to his colleagues, Wisconsin state Rep. Chuck Wichgers (R-Muskego) stated he opposed the bill because it would lead to infidelity, could result in “forced” contraception and was antithetical to natural laws. 

“Nature has an intention and when you have that act —  when pregnancy naturally occurs, that’s nature doing what nature does,” Wichgers told the Assembly. “The woman then has to counter nature by taking something that is highly systemic and highly invasive, according to the documents and the books that people that are pro the pill stated in their books.”

“That’s science. We would begin to see ourselves as the ultimate masters of nature, so when nature does something it’s supposed to do and then we say, ‘Let’s not do that’ — we’re talking not about getting a pimple if you eat Doritos and eat chocolate; that would be contrary to a health movement or nature,” he incoherently added. 

This is not the first time the theocratic Wichgers has invoked arcane imagery in his rhetoric. This past May, at a Turning Point USA event with Christian nationalists in Madison, he claimed there were satanic elements afoot at the state capital. 

“When it comes to this building, there’s demons in those walls,” Wichgers told a group of supporters while pointing to the state capitol. 

“The only way they go away is by this [prayer]. That’s the only way. And when you’re not here, those demons are laughing at you for not being here. They’re saying, ‘Go away, we’ll give you the laws that you want, we’ll violate the 10 Commandments, we’ll do whatever it takes to make you guys think you’re happy.’”