Supporters of reproductive rights in Wisconsin are cheering a state Supreme Court ruling that preserves the right to an abortion.
The law in Wisconsin has been murky since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022 by the United States Supreme Court, ending the right to an abortion on a federal level.
Conservatives had maintained the procedure was still illegal under a 19th century state law, which Democratic Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul challenged.
"The 1849 law that people have talked about so much is not in effect in Wisconsin," Kaul said Wednesday. "There is no sweeping criminal abortion ban. There is, as you mentioned, a 20-week ban on the books in Wisconsin. There are a variety of other laws, but certainly in the first 20 weeks of pregnancy, access to abortion in Wisconsin is safe and legal."
The ruling came as no surprise given that liberal justices control the court. One of them went so far as promising to uphold abortion rights during her campaign two years ago, and they blasted the ban during oral arguments in November.
The court ruled the old law was superseded by newer state laws regulating the procedure in striking down the state’s 176-year old abortion ban with a 4-3 liberal majority ruling.
Kaul is urging residents to keep up the momentum and talk with their lawmakers as well.
"This is a topic that has drawn immense interest from the public in Wisconsin because it has an immense impact on the people in the State of Wisconsin," Kaul explained. "And the legislature hasn't, to much of a degree, addressed this topic. Hearing from Wisconsinites about this, about how we can improve our laws and improve health care as a whole, is really important."
Conservatives like Dan Miller also making their voices heard, saying the state should have continued to protect the original ban.
"I'm a member of the human race. Of course I have a say in what a woman does to her child. You can't murder somebody without repercussions," Miller said.
Kaul says the ruling provides necessary clarity on the state of the law in Wisconsin, in that there is no longer a broad, sweeping abortion ban.
A solid majority of Wisconsin voters in the 2024 election, 62%, said abortion should be legal in all or most cases, according to AP VoteCast. About one-third said abortion should be illegal in most cases and only 5% said it should be illegal in all cases.
In a dissent, Justice Annette Ziegler called the ruling “a jaw-dropping exercise of judicial will.” She said the liberal justices caved in to their Democratic constituencies.
“Put bluntly, our court has no business usurping the role of the legislature, inventing legal theories on the fly in order to make four justices’ personal preference the law,” Ziegler said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.