There’s already talk about new abortion legislation in Wisconsin.
Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu did not rule out a new abortion ban when he was on UpFront over the weekend.
“If [the Wisconsin Supreme Court] makes abortion legal full term or if they keep it at the 20 weeks, we could try and do 14 weeks,” LeMahieu said. “At that point, we’ll try and build consensus. See where our caucus is at, see where the Assembly is at.”
Wisconsin’s supreme court is set to hear a challenge to the state’s 1849 abortion law. A Dane County judge has said that law doesn’t apply to “consensual abortions,” only the killing of babies.
The high court has also been asked to take-up a case that would declare a right to abortion in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin Democrats took to Twitter Monday to accuse LeMahieu of rushing to restrict reproductive freedom.
“Devin LeMahieu and WI GOP aren’t wasting any time trying to take away reproductive rights from Wisconsinites. That’s why you can’t sit out on the April 1 WI State Supreme Court election,” they said in a tweet.
LeMahieu said the liberal-majority court is using the pending case as a wedge issue in that spring supreme court election.
“It seems like they’ve sort of been slow-playing this issue, maybe waiting til after the April election so they can use it…so it could be a wedge issue among Democrats,” LeMahieu explained. “But when they make a ruling, if they do. We’ll see what the ruling is, and respond at that point.”
Wisconsin is currently operating under its post-Roe law that allows abortions up until 20 weeks.
Even if Republicans in the legislature approve a new abortion law that sets a new limit, it will not become law under Gov. Tony Evers.
Evers has made it clear since his first election in 2018 that he will not sign a law the limits a woman’s ability to have an abortion.
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