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6d ago

Wisconsin Supreme Court Voids 176-Year-Old Abortion Ban

The court found that newer abortion laws enacted over the past 50 years effectively repealed the Civil War–era statute, ensuring continued access.

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Abortion rights supporters rally at the Bigger Than Roe National Mobilization March in the rotunda of the Capital in Madison, on January 22, 2022.
People hold signs at the Capitol rotunda in Madison, Wis., on Jan. 22, 2023.
The state capitol in Madison, Wisconsin.

Overview

  • In a 4-3 ruling on July 2, the court’s liberal majority invalidated the 1849 law that criminalized nearly all abortions as felonies except to save the mother’s life.
  • Justice Rebecca Dallet wrote that comprehensive legislation since the 1980s regulating when and how providers may perform abortions impliedly repealed the near-total ban.
  • Attorney General Josh Kaul had argued that the 1985 statute permitting abortions up to fetal viability superseded the 1849 law, facing opposition from conservative prosecutors.
  • The decision affirms a 2023 Dane County finding that the old ban applies only to non-consensual fetal killing and does not prohibit voluntary abortions.
  • Planned Parenthood’s separate challenge to enshrine abortion rights under the state constitution remains pending, with Justice Susan Crawford set to weigh in after her upcoming swearing-in.