New legislation that removes abortion coverage from insurance plans of state employees in Wisconsin has been signed into law by Gov. Scott Walker.

Assembly Bill 128, sponsored by Sen. David Craig (R-Town of Vernon), prohibits the state from providing insurance plans that include coverage for abortions except in cases of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother.

Democrats argued that the new law is not needed because state law allows coverage for abortions only if the procedure is medically necessary.

Other critics complained that it would make it more difficult for sexual assault victims who work for the state to obtain abortions. Health plans will only provide abortion coverage for victims of sexual assault if they report the incident to the police, which many victims choose not to do.

Craig insisted that the legislation was not intended to prevent women from obtaining abortions, but to put restrictions on funding.

The bill was passed by the State Assembly in November and was approved by the State Senate in February.

The new law has been hailed by pro-life groups, such as Wisconsin Right to Life. "We thank bill authors Sen. Dave Craig, Rep. Andre Jacque, Rep. Ron Tusler, and Rep. Janel Brandtjen for their leadership on this bill, and we thank Governor Walker for signing it into law," Heather Weininger, Executive Director of Wisconsin Right to Life, stated in an email to Life News.

"This law significantly protects taxpayers' rights, since no one should be forced to subsidize the taking of innocent human life," she added.

Pro-Life Wisconsin Legislative Director Matt Sande commended Walker for "persevering in their ongoing effort to end taxpayer funding of abortion in our state."

"We must fully end taxpayer funding of abortion in Wisconsin. It's bad enough that child killing is legal. At the very least, taxpayers should not be forced to fund it," Sande said, as reported by Life Site News.

Governing.com noted that the passage of AB128 makes Wisconsin the 22nd state to enact such a measure.

The legislation was first proposed in 2013, but it failed due to fierce opposition from Democrat lawmakers. At the time state Sen. Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton) vowed to unleash "all out hell" if the Senate considered voting on the bill.