“DHS will work with our partners across the state to help Wisconsinites understand the implications of this decision. If you have questions about accessing abortion services, please call 414-289-3002 or contact your health care provider.
For the latest information about Wisconsin’s reproductive health services and family planning, please visit DHS website (https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/mch/reproductive-health-family-planning.htm). This website will continue to be updated as more information becomes available.”
— Department of Health Services (DHS) Secretary-designee Karen Timberlake
Fifty years of constitutional protections stripped away by partisan extremists.
Today, extremists on the United States Supreme Court stripped away a fundamental constitutional protection from millions of Americans. They chose to take this country backward and ignore legal precedent and the will of the people.
Elections. Matter.
Wisconsinites will now have to make health care decisions not based on what they and their doctors decide is best, but based on a law passed in 1849.
— Wisconsin State Senator Jon Erpenbach, District 27
“I believe that every child is a child of God, and today’s decision is a major milestone for the sanctity of life.”
— Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District Republican candidate Derrick Van Orden
“This decision is awful. Throwing out nearly 50 years of settled law to eliminate fundamental human rights is outrageous and an insult to our democracy, where a significant majority of Americans wanted Roe to stand. I share the sadness, fear, and anger of that majority today.
“This ruling takes Wisconsin back to 1849, criminalizing abortion with no exception for rape or incest. Earlier this week, Governor Evers called the legislature back for a special session to repeal this antiquated and cruel law, but right-wing extremist Republicans gaveled in and out immediately without rectifying this terrible wrong. The deeply personal decision to terminate a pregnancy should be made by individuals and their doctors, not politicians.
“Though this extreme ruling is rooted in misogyny and disproportionately impacts women, it also undermines every American’s right to bodily autonomy and threatens other essential protections for privacy and self-determination. Justice Thomas’s concurring opinion calls on the Court to revisit prior rulings on marriage equality, contraception, and private relationships between consenting adults.
“The fight for basic human rights like abortion doesn’t end here. The Senate must codify Roe today and not a day later.”
— Mark Pocan, U.S. Representative, Wisconsin’s 2nd District
The Committee to Protect Health Care is a national mobilization of doctors, health care professionals, and advocates who are building a pro-patient health care majority in Congress and in states so that we can live in an America where everyone has the health care they need to thrive. To learn more: www.committeetoprotect.org.
● “This unprecedented decision will put Wisconsinites, and tens of millions of people across America, in harm’s way,” said Dr. Ann Helms, critical care neurologist in Milwaukee and Wisconsin State Lead for the Committee to Protect Health Care (CTP). “By opening the doors for states to enforce antiquated abortion bans and enact new restrictions, the Supreme Court is jeopardizing our patients’s health and well-being. Physicians like us are compelled to stand up against this ruling and ask lawmakers to work to protect and expand access to abortion, which is safe, normal and necessary health care.”
● “Decisions around abortion are personal, and should be made between patients and their doctors, free from political interference,” said Dr. Kristin Lyerly, an OB/GYN and abortion care provider in De Pere, and member of CTP’s Reproductive Freedom Taskforce in De Pere. “Physicians should be able to continue to do our jobs and trust that our patients know what medical decisions will be best for their bodies and their futures. It’s imperative that our state lawmakers protect this freedom by working to expand abortion access.”
● Dr. Madelaine Tully, family physician in Milwaukee said, “We’ve seen what happens when abortions are banned in places like Texas, which recently banned it after six weeks — people are forced to flee to seek care elsewhere, or they’re forced to carry unexpected pregnancies to term. We know all too well that pregnancy is dangerous and can have physical and mental health complications. Nobody should be forced to remain pregnant just because of where they live or how much money they have to be able to travel. Anti-abortion politicians who support forced pregnancy must be held accountable for their dangerous actions.”
‘Abortion Rights are Disability Rights’
Disability Justice is a nonprofit civil rights organization pushing for increased political power for people with disabilities.
The ADA is a civil rights law for everyone — with a disability now or in the future.
Every person has the right to autonomy in their body. The US Supreme Court decision is tragic and cruel. Women’s lives are endagered by this decision. The negative impacts will hit those who do not have money, are women of color, or are women with disabilties.
Women with disabilties have the right to self-determination and bodily autonomy. There are too many barriers to quality reproductive health care every day. We are often marginalized in several ways. When disability intersects with poverty, race, or skin color there are more barriers to autonomy.
The National Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund:
“We are more likely to live in poverty and we are more likely to rely on the government for health care. Many of us are multiply marginalized.
We are more likely to be sexually assaulted. Especially people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Some of us have complex medical conditions and pregnancy is dangerous. . . . DDRF fights for the services that disabled people and families with children with disabilities need to live meaningful lives in their communities”
Wisconsin’s anti-scientific 1849 abortion law prohibits all abortions except to save the life of the mother.
We applaud the strength shown by Governor Tony Evers who promises to fight with “everything in his power” — by executive action, legislative, or judicial action — to overturn the US Supreme Court decision.
We, Disability Justice, fight for a society of full inclusion. We fight for the human rights and dignity that the Americans with Disabilities Act promises.
“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. 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. I ask people to join this fight with their voices and their votes because we will not be taken back, we will move forward.”
— U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin
“This is an unfathomably grim day for our state and our country. I am heartbroken—for the millions of Wisconsinites and Americans the U.S. Supreme Court has abandoned and for our country and our democratic institutions. 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. 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. My heart breaks for them, I grieve for them, and I pray for their strength and courage in the days ahead.
“Our work to do the right thing for the people of this state must continue. We will fight this decision in every way we can with every power we have. As people in Wisconsin and across our country make their voices heard in the days and months ahead, we will do so peacefully and without violence. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again today: I will never stop fighting to make sure that every single Wisconsinite has the right to consult their family, their faith, and their doctor to make the reproductive healthcare decision that is right for them, and without interference from politicians or members of the Supreme Court who don’t know anything about their life circumstances, values, or responsibilities.”
— Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers
Opportunity Wisconsin is a coalition of Wisconsin residents fighting for an economy that works for working people.
Today the United States Supreme Court released its official opinion, overturning Roe v. Wade, triggering Wisconsin’s 172-year-old criminal abortion ban. Last month, when given the opportunity to protect the right to abortion, Senator Ron Johnson voted to block the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) from moving forward in the U.S. Senate. The bill would have codified the right to abortion guaranteed currently under Roe v. Wade into law, protecting both the right and access to the vital medical procedure.
“While expected, today’s decision is devastating nonetheless. Today the U.S. Supreme Court, cheered on by Senator Ron Johnson, overturned Roe v. Wade and sent Wisconsin women back to 1849 where we will likely face a criminal abortion ban. Over sixty percent of Wisconsin residents say abortion should be legal in most or all cases, and yet, Senator Johnson abdicated his duty to represent all of Wisconsin when he voted to block the Women’s Health Protection Act.
“Today’s decision also has significant economic implications—something Senator Johnson purports to care about. Limits on our ability to make decisions about our own reproductive health isn’t just going to be ‘a little messy for some people,’ as Senator Johnson claimed, it’s going to have a direct impact on our economic security. Too many across the Badger State are worried about paying their bills and putting food on the table, and instead of working to bring down costs, Senator Johnson is choosing to support policies that we know would have very damaging effects on Wisconsin families and the economy. It’s time for Senator Johnson to stop serving himself and start supporting policies that help Wisconsin workers and families.”
While testifying before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee last month, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen laid out just how damaging overturning Roe v. Wade would be, not only for women, but for the economy, saying the landmark court case “enabled many women to finish school, that [it] increased their earning potential. It allowed women to plan and balance their families and careers. And research also shows that it had a favorable impact on the well being and earnings of children.”
In fact, according to a piece published by The Morning Brew:
● [Dr. Diana Greene Foster’s 2020 book] The Turnaway Study followed groups of women who wanted abortions for five years. Two-thirds of the group that was unable to get abortions were living in poverty within six months, compared to 45% of the group that was able to receive the procedure.
● In 1970, prior to Roe v. Wade, women’s labor force participation rate was about 43%. Scholars argue that abortion access was an important factor in raising that rate to 57.4% by 2019.
● A 2020 paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that being denied abortion access causes bankruptcies and evictions experienced by women to rise by 81%, and increases the amount of debt women hold that is 30+ days past due by 78%.
— Meghan Roh, Opportunity Wisconsin program director
“This is a horrible day for our country. For decades, Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey have protected the reproductive freedom for millions of Americans and Wisconsinites. Now, in our dystopic reality, our children will have fewer freedom than their parents.
“Every person must have the right to make reproductive healthcare decisions that are best for them. No government should interfere with complex medical decisions made privately between a person and their doctor. Instead, the extremist conservative members of the U.S. Supreme Court have prioritized their overtly partisan agenda rather than upholding the sacred right to bodily autonomy.
“Safe, accessible abortions have been vital health care for so many people across our country and in Wisconsin. This ruling today is an enormous overreach in effort to control and dehumanize reproductive healthcare. Forcing someone to continue a pregnancy against their will is an assault on their fundamental rights and liberty.
“In Wisconsin, this means our state may go back to an archaic 173-year-old law that banned abortion. Less than a year after we became a state, white male legislators passed an abortion ban that may now go back into effect because we never codified Roe or passed the Abortion Rights Preservation Act. Some Wisconsinites will go out of state to receive the care they need—but many will be forced to have unsafe, illegal abortions here. This is unacceptable, and this isn’t the Wisconsin way.
“I am disgusted and ashamed by this decision. As Wisconsinites, we must come together and take action to protect reproductive freedom for all of the people in our state.”
— State Senator Melissa Agard (D-Madison)
Wisconsin Family Action is a statewide organization engaged in strengthening, preserving, and promoting marriage, family, life, and religious freedom in Wisconsin.
Today, after 50 years and the loss of 60+ million unborn children, the U.S. Supreme Court has finally reversed the infamous Roe v. Wade decision. This means that each state must decide its own abortion policy. As for Wisconsin, abortion is prohibited! For details on current law in Wisconsin and what happens next, see #AfterRoe.
In 1973, the court opined that they could not determine when life begins. They were wrong then and science over the last 5 decades has proven that. Wisconsin Family Action is grateful that this court has finally righted that wrong and concluded that the states possess the rightful responsibility to protect life. We thank Justices Alito, Thomas, Chief Justice Roberts, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett, whose majority vote provided this landmark opinion.
Wisconsin is in a unique position to protect unborn because the state has a pre-Roe law that is still on the books criminalizing most abortions in our state.
Julaine Appling, President of Wisconsin Family Action, remarks on today’s decision: “For my entire adult life, I have worked and prepared for this day. I remain hopeful that Wisconsin’s pre-Roe prohibition on abortion will only be eclipsed by an authentic respect for life ethic. I pray that grace and compassion toward all women experiencing unintended pregnancies becomes the norm and that those who have experienced an abortion and its after-effects would find healing and wholeness.
“We call upon Attorney General Josh Kaul and all county district attorneys to uphold the 1849 law that is still enforceable. We ask simply that you do your job and set aside your personal political agendas.
“Today’s decision does not mean our work is done. Wisconsin Family Action will continue its vision to build a Wisconsin where God is honored, life is respected, families flourish and religious freedom flourishes. That necessitates policy, infrastructure, and awareness in our state which directly assists women and children — born and unborn and their families. We will continue to aggressively promote our amazing Pregnancy Care Centers—the heartbeat of Wisconsin’s respect-life efforts. We will encourage compassion and grace for all who now regret their previous abortion decision. We will work to restore a respect life ethic throughout America, until abortion is un-thinkable, and the self-evident truths enumerated in our Declaration are restored and respected for all.”
“The Supreme Court made the correct and much-needed decision to overturn Roe v. Wade,” said Grothman. “Legality of abortions is now turned back to the states. It is important for America to remember, when ultrasounds were practically unheardof, 47 states had made abortion illegal. Now, with accurate ultrasounds, it is clear to all Americans that unborn children are human beings. We will see where the public and churches stand.
“Over the years, millions of children have had their dreams stolen before seeing the light of the day. But today marks a brighter future for the hearts and minds of unborn children, women, and families.
“I commend the six Justices who voted to overturn Roe for having the courage to base their decision on sound legal principles rather than a fashionable line of thinking that rules academia, Hollywood, and the mainstream media.”
— U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Glenbeulah), Wisconsin’s 6th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives
AG candidate Jarchow applauds SCOTUS, pledges to uphold rule of law
In previous statements, Attorney General Josh Kaul has said that if the high court overturns Roe v. Wade, he would not use any state resources to enforce the abortion ban in Wisconsin — ignoring the rule of law.
Adam Jarchow made the following statement:
“I applaud the court for protecting innocent life. Unlike the lawlessness of our failed Attorney General, Josh Kaul, I will uphold Wisconsin law. As a father of two, I’ve been blessed with the miracle of children and I will vigorously defend the right to life. I’m proud to be 100% pro-life and have the endorsement of Wisconsin Right to Life.”
U.S. Supreme Court eliminates constitutional right to abortion. What does that mean for Wisconsin?
from Wisconsin Watch
The U.S. Supreme Court today ruled that Americans no longer hold the constitutional right to abortion. The 6-3 ruling overturns Roe v. Wade and allows states to ban the procedure. What does that mean for Wisconsin? The answer is complicated. Earlier this month, Wisconsin Watch’s Phoebe Petrovic examined the “tangled” system of abortion laws and court decisions dating back more than 170 years that take effect with the Roe’s end. It’s worth revisiting that story today.
Wisconsin is now expected to see a legal battle over whether it reverts back to a law from 1849 — a near-total ban on abortion passed 71 years before women had the right to vote. Providers told Petrovic that Roe’s demise would make abortions very difficult — if not impossible — to access in Wisconsin until the legality of the procedure is ironed out in court.
The ruling came two days after Wisconsin’s Republican-controlled Legislature took no action in a special session that Democratic Gov. Tony Evers called with the intent of repealing Wisconsin’s abortion ban. The Legislature’s immediate adjournment of the session left the pre-Civil War state abortion law in place.
Wisconsin has only four clinics providing elective abortion procedures: two in Milwaukee, one in Madison and one in Sheboygan. Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, which operates three of the four clinics, announced this morning that it had suspended abortion services due to the ruling.
“If you live in Wisconsin and need an abortion, it’s important to contact your local Planned Parenthood first. We will work with you to get abortion care in a state where it remains legal,” the provider said on its website.
Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin previously said that a ruling overturning Roe would halt its service “until there’s clarification from the court of competent jurisdiction, declaring that (1849) law is not enforceable.”
