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FACT BRIEF

Does Wisconsin Congressman Bryan Steil support ‘surveillance of pregnancies’?

By Tom Kertscher
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NO

U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, a Republican who represents southeastern Wisconsin, has not said he supports “surveillance of pregnancies.”

The surveillance claim was part of a Sept. 3, 2024, attack ad on Steil about abortion. The ad was from Democrat Peter Barca, who is running against Steil in the Nov. 5 election.

Barca’s spokesperson cited no evidence to back the claim, only Steil’s endorsement of former President Donald Trump and Trump’s statement that states should decide whether to monitor pregnancies.

Steil's spokesperson said he doesn't support "any such type of surveillance including pregnancy surveillance, whatever that term means."

A policy initiative with contributions from many former Trump administration officials, Project 2025, calls for the federal Health and Human Services Department to “ensure that every state reports exactly how many abortions take place” and “ensure that statistics are separated by category,” including spontaneous miscarriage.

Trump has distanced himself from the plan.

See a full discussion of this at Wisconsin Watch
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Peter Barca for Congress Different Styles
X Bryan Steil post
Time How Far Trump Would Go
Wisconsin Watch Donald Trump: Plans to force states to report miscarriages?
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Wisconsin Watch, the news arm of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, increases the quality and quantity of investigative reporting in Wisconsin, while training current and future investigative journalists. Its work fosters an informed citizenry and strengthens democracy.
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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.