MADISON, Wis. — Divided government within the halls of the Capitol building stands in the way of changes to the Wisconsin criminal abortion ban from 1849.
While some Republicans would like to pass exceptions for rape and incest, Democrats, including the governor, said those measures don’t go far enough.
The partisan battle has prompted the Republican leader of the Wisconsin Senate to announce his chamber will not consider the proposal, given the governor’s outright opposition and internal struggles among the caucus to find enough votes.
The goal for Republican lawmakers is simple and straightforward: make the need for abortions rare.
Wednesday morning, Republicans from the Assembly and Senate announced legislation to roll back some limits imposed by the state’s criminal abortion ban from 1849, including exceptions for rape and incest during the first trimester of a pregnancy.
Though the ban currently provides exceptions to protect the life of the mother, the language is vague. The bill would also seek to clarify those instances, such as when the fetus has no chance of survival outside of the uterus.
“You have to remember that when these unfortunate situations happen, these are families that are trying to have a child,” State Sen. Mary Felzkowski, R-Irma, explained. “Abortion is the last thing on their mind, so we are trusting these families, these women and their husbands, to make those decisions with their medical providers.”
Assembly Republicans also renewed their push to allow pharmacists to prescribe birth control. The proposal passed their chamber the last two legislative sessions. However, the bill has failed to clear the state Senate each time.
According to State Rep. Joel Kitchens, R-Sturgeon Bay, similar deregulation has been approved in 24 states and the District of Columbia.
“It has proven that it will definitely reduce unplanned pregnancies and abortions, so I think the bottom line is that, as Republicans, we don’t want women to be faced with that choice of having to abort, and I think that this bill goes a long way toward that goal,” Kitchens said.
While the Senate has previously opposed making birth control available over the counter, exceptions to Wisconsin’s ban on abortion appear to be a total nonstarter.
During Wednesday’s press conference, State Sen. Felzkowski told reporters there were not 17 Republican votes in the Senate, which would be needed to pass exceptions.
Later in the day, Republican Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu said the proposal was completely off the table.
“There are deeply held beliefs on both sides of the abortion debate. Unfortunately, the Governor is only willing to entertain legislation that allows broad access to late-term, elective abortion,” LeMahieu said in a statement. “Making a snap decision announcing his intention to veto a bill that would provide an exemption to Wisconsin’s abortion ban for rape, incest, and the health of the mother makes clear that politics, and not the well-being of Wisconsin’s mothers, is the Evers administration’s priority. This is not a topic to use as a political football. It takes careful consideration; speaking to our constituents and our families. Further discussion on this specific proposal is unnecessary. The bill will not be considered on the floor of the Senate.”
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, who called on Democrats to meet in the middle, was more confident his caucus could deliver the minimum 50 members needed.
“My first hope is that Dan Kelly wins the [state Supreme Court] election so that we have a Legislature that actually is the place where the political decisions are made, not the state Supreme Court,” Vos explained. “I think we can get to 50. I can’t speak for the Senate, but part of this is also hoping that Democrats are willing to work with us on this update, and not thinking that somehow they’re going to allow the other branch of government to become a super Legislature.”
With the ideological balance of the state’s high court up for grabs in April, Democrats hope to flip control and ultimately get an ongoing lawsuit to overturn the ban entirely before the justices.
Gov. Evers, who previously called two special sessions to repeal the state’s abortion ban and made it the focal point of his reelection bid, took to Twitter moments after Wednesday’s announcement from Republicans.
“An overwhelming majority of Wisconsin supports restoring Roe and repealing our 1849-era criminal abortion ban, and I won’t sign anything less,” Evers said in a statement posted to social media.
Meanwhile, the Senate’s minority leader said there is no room for politicians in the doctor’s office.
“The legislation put forth by my Republican colleagues is both out of touch and out of line with the people of Wisconsin,” State Sen. Melissa Agard, D-Madison, said in a statement. “The bill builds on a law that was passed over 170 years ago - before women were allowed to vote and when people were allowed to be owned for their labor.”
Across the aisle, Republican leaders see such condemnation as an unwillingness to compromise.
“Unless we basically have abortion until the baby is coming out of the birth canal, [Gov. Evers] will not sign any update to the statute,” Vos told reporters. “I think that’s reckless and irresponsible. What we have here are people of goodwill saying here’s something that Republicans could move on.”
Vos said Assembly Republicans would likely not move on the proposals before the April spring election since the bills need to be circulated for co-sponsors over the next couple of weeks. During that time, the goal is also to generate more public dialogue.