Will midterms impact future of abortion in WI?
Emily Singer
The results of the midterm elections will determine where in the United States abortion is legal and how draconian abortion bans may be.
The fate of abortion rights is now in the hands of voters after the Supreme Court on Friday overturned decades of settled precedent in its ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that abortion is not a right under the U.S. Constitution.
Now that state legislatures are able to pass bills that restrict abortion, the outcome of elections for governors, attorneys general, and state lawmakers will determine whether abortion remains legal and how draconian bans will be.
Thirteen GOP-controlled states already have on the books “trigger” laws, bans on abortion designed to take effect once the constitutional right to abortion was denied by the Supreme Court.
However, in other states, Democratic governors and other officials have served as a firewall against abortion bans, firewalls that will crumble if Republicans win key elections in those states in November. Nearly every GOP candidate for the positions have said they support bans on abortion, some even in cases in which the life of the pregnant person is at risk.
Democratic groups are promising to continue the fight for abortion rights even after the court has struck down Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that affirmed a constitutional right to abortion.
“Make no mistake: abortion is on the ballot this November, and we, the pro-choice majority in this country, will hold them accountable,” Laphonza Butler, president of EMILY’s List, which supports Democratic pro-choice female candidates for political office, said in a statement. “We will replace them in offices across the country, up and down the ballot with Democratic pro-choice candidates who will fight for our rights and freedom, with women who will work to expand access to anyone who needs it.”
These are the states where abortion rights are at risk if Republicans win elections in November 2022.
Wisconsin
The state of Wisconsin has an abortion ban on the books from 1849.
The law says that anyone who performs or assists in an abortion is committing a felony carrying a maximum six-year prison sentence.
However, Wisconsin Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul, who is running for reelection in November, said he would not enforce it.
“Even if courts were to interpret that law as being enforceable, as attorney general I would not use the resources of the Wisconsin Department of Justice either to investigate alleged violations of that abortion ban or to prosecute alleged violations of it,” Kaul told the Associated Press in December.
Former state Rep. Adam Jarchow and county attorney Eric Toney, Republicans running to replace Kaul, have both said they would enforce the 1849 law.
“As a pro-life father of two, I will always support the right to life,” Jarchow said in May, while the AP reported in December that Toney said, “I am proudly pro-life and I will defend the police and defend our Wisconsin laws, including our abortion ban, if allowed.”
Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Tony Evers is also up for reelection. As governor, he has the power to veto any further abortion bans the Republican-controlled Legislature tries to pass.
Evers’ possible GOP opponents have expressed their opposition to abortion.
Former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch said she is against abortion even in the case of rape or incest, explaining, “I don’t think it’s the baby’s fault how the baby is conceived.”
Businessman Tim Michels, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, said, “Every life is precious, and as governor, I will work with the legislature to ensure the lives of the most vulnerable are protected.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.