Evers, Democrats Reintroduce Bill To Repeal Wisconsin's Abortion Ban

WISCONSIN — Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers and other Democrats are reintroducing legislation that would repeal the state’s abortion ban and restore women’s reproductive rights to levels where they were before the U.S. Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade last summer.

Evers and Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez joined State Senator Kelda Roys (D-Madison) and State Rep. Lisa Subeck (D-Madison) on Tuesday to introduce a bill that would repeal the state’s 1849 abortion ban, which prohibits nearly all abortions with the exceptions of those involving cases of incest and rape.

“I’ve been clear from the beginning that I won't sign a bill that leaves Wisconsin women with fewer rights and freedoms than they had before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe.” Evers said in a news release on Tuesday. “This bill will simply restore access to safe, legal abortion in Wisconsin to what it was on June 23, 2022—nothing more, and nothing less.

“We must restore Roe, and I’m proud to join Legislative Democrats in continuing our fight to restore access to reproductive freedom in Wisconsin with a clean repeal our state’s 1849-era criminal abortion ban.”

According to the governor’s office, 60 percent of Wisconsin voters support safe and legal access to abortion, and more than 60 percent of voters opposed the overturning of Roe v. Wade, officials said Tuesday, citing a Marquette School of Law poll.

Despite broad, bipartisan support for access to safe, legal abortion, last week, Republicans in the Legislature introduced a bill that would leave Wisconsin women and patients with fewer reproductive rights and freedoms than they had for nearly five decades prior to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling overturning Roe, Evers office said.

Subeck, the coauthor of LRB-0692, has introduced similar legislation to repeal the state’s criminal abortion ban since the 2015 Legislative Session.

“Abortion is healthcare. As long as doctors face the threat of prosecution for providing basic reproductive healthcare, and as long as extremist Republicans continue putting politics ahead of our rights, patients will not have access to the abortion care they need in our state,” Subeck said in a news release.

“The bill we introduced today would Restore Roe in Wisconsin by returning the state of abortion access to exactly what it was before Roe v. Wade was overturned, restoring our freedom to make our own reproductive healthcare decisions without interference from politicians.”

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin praised Evers and other lawmakers for introducing the bill that seeks to restore women’s reproductive rights.

“Accessing health care is not a criminal act. It is imperative that this law, which is almost as old as our state itself, is repealed,” Steven Webb, the organization’s executive director said in a statement.

“Anti-choice members of the state Legislature have refused to repeal Wisconsin's Criminal Abortion Ban—following the lead of lawmakers from nearly 200 years ago who also believed women shouldn't have the right to vote …. We know that banning abortion does not stop abortion, it only makes it unsafe and puts women’s health and lives at risk. It only makes it more difficult and forces women to carry dangerous pregnancies or ones resulting from rape and incest.”