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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial |
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ARTICLE VIEW: |
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Wisconsin Supreme Court’s liberal majority strikes down 176-year-old |
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abortion ban |
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By Associated Press, CNN |
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Updated: |
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11:06 AM EDT, Wed July 2, 2025 |
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Source: AP |
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The Wisconsin Supreme Court’s liberal majority struck down the |
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state’s 176-year-old abortion ban on Wednesday, ruling 4-3 that it |
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was superseded by a newer state law that criminalizes abortions only |
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after a fetus can survive outside the womb. |
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State lawmakers adopted the ban in 1849, making it a felony when anyone |
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other than the mother “intentionally destroys the life of an unborn |
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child.” |
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It was in effect until 1973, when the US Supreme Court’s landmark Roe |
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v. Wade decision legalizing abortion nationwide nullified it. |
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Legislators never officially repealed the ban, however, and |
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conservatives argued that the US Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to |
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overturn Roe reactivated it. |
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Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul, a Democrat, filed a lawsuit that |
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year arguing that the ban was trumped by abortion restrictions |
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legislators enacted during the nearly half-century that Roe was in |
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effect. Kaul specifically cited a 1985 law that essentially permits |
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abortions until viability. Some babies can survive with medical help |
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after 21 weeks of gestation. |
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Sheboygan County District Attorney Joel Urmanski, a Republican, |
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defended the ban in court, arguing that the 1849 ban could coexist with |
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the newer abortion restrictions, just as different penalties for the |
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same crime coexist. |
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Dane County Circuit Judge Diane Schlipper ruled in 2023 that the 1849 |
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ban outlaws feticide – which she defined as the killing of a fetus |
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without the mother’s consent – but not consensual abortions. |
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Abortions have been available in the state since that ruling but the |
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state Supreme Court decision gives providers and patients more |
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certainty that abortions will remain legal in Wisconsin. |
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Urmanski asked the state Supreme Court to overturn Schlipper’s ruling |
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without waiting for a decision from a lower appellate court. It was |
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expected as soon as the justices took the case that they would overturn |
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the ban. |
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Liberals hold a 4-3 majority on the court and one of them, Janet |
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Protasiewicz, openly stated on the campaign trail that she supports |
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abortion rights. |
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Democratic-backed Susan Crawford defeated conservative Brad Schimel for |
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an open seat on the court in April, ensuring liberals will maintain |
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their 4-3 edge until at least 2028. Crawford has not been sworn in yet |
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and was not part of Wednesday’s ruling. She’ll play pivotal role, |
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though, in a separate Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin lawsuit |
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challenging the 1849 ban’s constitutionality. The high court decided |
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last year to take that case. It’s still pending. |
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