2 weeks Ago
During heated oral arguments on Monday morning, the Wisconsin supreme court appeared poised to find an 1849 law banning most abortions cannot be enforced. The legal status of abortion in Wisconsin has been contested since the US supreme court overturned Roe v Wade and ended the right to abortion nationwide, triggering bans across the country – including in Wisconsin, where a 175-year-old ban immediately went into effect. Democrats in Wisconsin have seized on abortion as a campaign issue, with Justice Janet Protasiewicz expressing her support for abortion rights and winning a seat on the court in spring 2023.
Protasiewicz's election to the court helped flip the ideological balance on the bench, which is now controlled by a narrow liberal majority. It is highly unlikely the liberal-controlled court will uphold the ban. The 1849 statute, which was nullified by Roe v Wade and then reanimated when the landmark decision was overturned, declares that ending "the life of an unborn child" is a felony, except when required to save the life of the mother.
In July 2023, a Dane county judge ruled that the 1849 ban applies only to feticide and not "consensual" abortion, citing a previous ruling that interpreted the statute as an anti-feticide law, and in September, providers including Planned Parenthood resumed offering abortion...
Alice Herman.
