Republican and Democratic Wisconsin politicians are reacting, to Friday’s action by the the U.S. Supreme Court, overturning Roe v. Wade.
“This is an absolutely disastrous and unconscionable decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, the consequences of which I hoped to never see again in my lifetime,” Governor Tony Evers said in a statement. “I know many across our state and nation are scared—worried about their own health and about the health and safety of their family members, friends, and neighbors, who could very soon see the ability to make their own reproductive healthcare decisions stripped from them.”
Here’s my full statement on #SCOTUS decision to overturn #Roe. pic.twitter.com/HsnEOwRtQk
— Governor Tony Evers (@GovEvers) June 24, 2022
The high court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, is a reversal that leaves states free to drastically reduce or even outlaw abortion, a right to which was established nearly 50 years ago in Roe v. Wade.
“Today is a victory for life and for those who have fought for decades to protect the unborn,” said U.S. Senator Ron Johnson in a statement. “For almost fifty years the decision of nine unelected Justices have prevented a democratically derived consensus on the profound moral issue of abortion to be formed. This decision will now allow that democratic process to unfold in each state to determine at what point does society have the responsibility to protect life.”
Today is a victory for life and for those who have fought for decades to protect the unborn. For almost 50 years the decision of nine unelected Justices prevented a democratically derived consensus on the profound moral issue of abortion. Now the debate can be returned to states. pic.twitter.com/cmH8jwIJDd
— Senator Ron Johnson (@SenRonJohnson) June 24, 2022
Wisconsin’s 1849 abortion ban could be challenged in court, now that Roe V. Wade has been overturned. Attorney General Josh Kaul said the Wisconsin Department of Justice could be called into any such litigation, which is likely.
Kaul said there are newer state statutes in conflict with the older law. ” There are statutes that talk about exemptions for both, not just the life, but the health of the mother,” Kaul said. “The 19th-century ban doesn’t have an exception for the protection of health. So there are places where the laws are in conflict and I think that’s going to be something the courts will ultimately resolve.”
Kaul said as long as he is attorney general, the DOJ will not prosecute any cases under the 1849 law.
“An activist majority of the Supreme Court has overturned Roe and nearly 50 years of precedent, taking away the constitutional rights of American women to make their own personal choices about their body, their health, and their family,” U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin said in a statement. “Republicans have taken Wisconsin women back to 1849 and it is Republicans who want to keep us there with support for having politicians interfere in the freedoms of women who will now have fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers have had for decades.”
My statement on on the Supreme Court overturning Roe and Wisconsin women being taken back to 1849: pic.twitter.com/ETWk1QBy7C
— Sen. Tammy Baldwin (@SenatorBaldwin) June 24, 2022
“Let’s call this what it is: a brazen, political act that rolls back essential human rights,” said state Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neuabauer (D-Racine). “By striking down a precedent of nearly 50 years, the U.S. Supreme Court has sent our country back to the 1970’s and Wisconsin back to the 1840’s.”
“Wisconsin statute specifies that an ‘unborn child’ is a human being from the time of conception until it is born alive,” said state Senate President Chris Kapenga (R-Delafiueld) in a statement. “And, if there is a medical issue where the life of the mother is in jeopardy, the life of the mother can be saved. These statutes are now in effect.”
WJMC-Rice Lake contributed to this report