Wisconsin GOP eyes referendum on 14-week abortion ban

• Republicans within the Wisconsin Assembly launched a invoice Friday calling for a binding referendum on a proposal outlawing abortion after 14 weeks of being pregnant.
• Democratic Gov. Tony Evers is just about sure to veto the measure ought to it clear the Legislature.
• Evers has beforehand vowed to veto “any bill that makes reproductive health care any less accessible for Wisconsinites than it is right now,” spokesperson Britt Cudaback famous, claiming that to be “what this bill aims to do.”

Republicans who management the Wisconsin Assembly quietly launched a invoice Friday that will name for a binding statewide referendum on whether or not abortion needs to be banned after 14 weeks of being pregnant.

The GOP has scheduled a public listening to on the invoice for Monday afternoon on the state Capitol. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers is nearly sure to veto the measure. However, the proposal may nonetheless provoke the conservative base after Democrats parlayed anger over the U.S. Supreme Court’s resolution to overturn its landmark 1972 Roe v. Wade ruling, which legalized abortion nationwide, into huge election wins throughout the nation.

Nowhere was that dynamic extra evident than in Wisconsin, the place Janet Protasiewicz gained a seat on the state Supreme Court final yr after repeatedly saying on the marketing campaign path that she helps abortion rights. Her victory handed liberal justices a 4-3 majority on the courtroom.

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To add to Republicans’ woes, a Dane County decide dominated this previous summer time that Wisconsin’s 174-year-old ban on abortion solely prohibits feticide, or an try and kill an unborn little one. The ruling emboldened Planned Parenthood, which had ceased offering providers within the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court resolution, to renew operations in September. The case is on enchantment, although, and certain will find yourself earlier than the state Supreme Court.

Monday’s listening to is about for a similar day Vice President Kamala Harris is about to go to Waukesha County as a part of a nationwide tour selling reproductive rights, promising loads of headlines for either side on abortion.

Another Wisconsin legislation bans abortions after 20 weeks of being pregnant. The invoice Friday would outlaw abortions after 14 weeks of being pregnant, or about three months.

Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos of Wisconsin participates in a information convention on the Capitol in Madison, Wisconsin, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer)

Forty-three states prohibit abortions after a sure level of viability, based on the Guttmacher Institute, a analysis group that helps abortion rights. Two states — Georgia and South Carolina — have legal guidelines in impact that ban abortion at six weeks, earlier than many ladies notice they’re pregnant. Nebraska and North Carolina have legal guidelines in impact that outlaw abortion at 12 weeks. Arizona and Florida have legal guidelines in impact that prohibit abortion at 15 weeks.

The Wisconsin invoice comes with a catch, although. The proposal requires a statewide referendum carried out throughout April’s election asking voters whether or not the 14-week prohibition ought to take impact. If accredited, the invoice would take impact the day after the outcomes are licensed. If the query is rejected, the invoice wouldn’t take impact.

Wisconsin legislation doesn’t enable voters to position questions on the poll. Republican lawmakers have rejected Evers’ calls to create a method for voters to repeal the 1849 abortion ban.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos stated in December that he’d prefer to let voters resolve whether or not to shrink the window for abortions. He stated then that passing a brand new abortion legislation would finish the uncertainty of ready for judges to interpret outdated legal guidelines.

The GOP launched the invoice into the Legislature’s on-line database Friday morning with out distributing a memo to legislators looking for cosponsors, issuing a information launch or calling a information convention, which is customary when legislators wish to draw consideration to a proposal. Asked for remark Friday, Vos spokesperson Angela Joyce referred a reporter to Vos’ December feedback.

Joyce launched an announcement on behalf of Rep. Amanda Nedweski, the invoice’s chief Assembly sponsor, later Friday afternoon. Nedweski stated shrinking the window for an abortion may save lives.

Britt Cudaback, a spokesperson for Evers, referred reporters Friday to feedback Evers made final month during which he vowed to veto “any bill that makes reproductive health care any less accessible for Wisconsinites than it is right now.”

“Which is what this bill aims to do,” Cudaback stated.

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The measure might not even get to Evers. The invoice must go each the Assembly and the Senate earlier than going to the governor. The Senate’s Republican majority chief, Devin LeMahieu, stated final week that it will be troublesome to get his caucus to coalesce round an abortion invoice that Evers would veto. LeMahieu spokesperson Brian Radday did not instantly return a message Friday looking for remark.