Abortion

Wisconsin GOP Blocks Effort to Overturn Anti-Abortion Law From 1894

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers tried calling a special session to overturn the law, to no avail.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers speaks during the 2020 Democratic National Convention
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers tried calling a special session to overturn a pre-Roe law criminalizing abortions, but the state GOP vowed to close the session immediately. Stephen Voss/Getty Images

Good morning to everyone except the GOP lawmakers in Wisconsin who shut down Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ attempt to bring the Badger State into the 21st (heck, even the 20th) century. Here’s looking at you, Wisconsin.

Last week, Evers issued an executive order calling for a special session to overturn the 1849 state law criminalizing abortion with no exceptions for rape or incest.

“The rights Wisconsinites have relied upon for nearly 50 years are in jeopardy, and our neighbors, families, and friends could soon be unable to access the healthcare they need and deserve if we don’t take action,” Evers tweeted. “We cannot and will not go backwards.”

The GOP-controlled legislature vowed to close the session without any action, with Republican Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu declaring, “We will gavel out of another blatantly political special session call from this partisan governor.”

Although Wisconsin’s attorney general Josh Kaul has said he won’t enforce the archaic law that was passed even before women had the right to vote, there are some more recent abortion statutes that will likely see their day in court once the Supreme Court reverses Roe v. Wade.

The battle between the Democratic executive and Republican legislature is likely to continue well through the Wisconsin gubernatorial election in November, raising the stakes for the future of abortion access in the state. Of course, conservatives have been working for years to keep Wisconsinites from all their constitutional rights—including the right to vote.

For now, the draconian law blocked by Roe v. Wade remains on the books—a threat to the already limited access to abortion and reproductive care in Wisconsin.

This post was adapted from a Twitter thread.