Evers Calls Special Session To Allow Binding Referendum On Abortion

WISCONSIN — Amid a battle over abortion rights in Wisconsin, Gov. Tony Evers on Tuesday called for a special legislative session in October to create a process for binding statewide referendums.

Evers said if his proposal goes through it would bring a statewide referendum process where voters could file petitions with the Wisconsin Elections Commission to hold votes on proposed laws and constitutional amendments and to repeal laws. The plan would in effect make a pathway for residents to directly challenge Wisconsin's criminal abortion ban.

Wisconsin does not currently have a process allowing voters to change law by referendum, nor is there any process for voters to introduce referendums. That could change if the Wisconsin legislature takes up the call from Evers, though Republicans already appear poised against the measure.

Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos issued a joint statement Tuesday where they called it a "desperate political stunt."

“As far as I’m concerned, the right of Wisconsinites to make their own reproductive healthcare decisions without interference from politicians is a fundamental freedom that shouldn’t have to be put to a vote—it was a right for nearly 50 years, it was a right until June 23rd, and it should still be a right today,” said evers in a news release. “But Legislative Republicans have left no other choice. If they aren’t going to uphold the will of the people, then the people of this state should have the right to take a stand at the ballot box. At the end of the day, Wisconsinites—and women in particular—were not only stripped of their reproductive freedom, but they currently don’t have a right to enact the change they need to protect that freedom without having to get permission from the Legislature. That’s just wrong, and it’s time for us to change that.”

SEE ALSO: Wisconsin Abortion Ban Challenged In Lawsuit From Kaul, Evers