Back when Roe v. Wade was decided, in 1973, 46 states had abortion bans in place. Some of those laws were never repealed. Now, states across the nation are trying to determine what will happen with those laws.
In Wisconsin, Governor Tony Evers and his Attorney General Josh Kaul are challenging their state’s 19th-century abortion ban. They filed their action in Dane County Circuit Court. Evers supported the lawsuit in a statement saying, “I will never stop fighting to ensure every Wisconsinite has the right to consult their family, their faith, and their doctor and make the reproductive healthcare decision that is right for them – a decision that should be made without interference from politicians or members of the Supreme Court who don’t know anything about their life circumstances, values, or responsibilities.”
AG Kaul argues in the lawsuit that statutes passed in the 1980s supersede the 1800’s statute and that modern generations never consented to such an antiquated law. The law is so old, that it was enacted a year after the territory became a state.
In 1985, Wisconsin adopted a law that prohibits abortions after a fetus has grown enough that it could survive outside the womb. Evers and Kaul say that is the law in place now that Roe has been overturned, not the 1800s law that bans abortion in its entirety. “Wisconsin abortion providers cannot be held to two sets of diametrically opposed laws, and the Wisconsin people deserve clarity,” the lawsuit said.
Republicans in the state have said they may try to update the law but Governor Evers said he will use his veto power if they do.
An almost fully intact baby wooly mammoth was just discovered near Alaska and you have to see her!
There is a lot of legal wrangling going on in the country right now. So much so, it’s hard to keep up. Where do you live? Do you know what’s happening in your state right now? What would you like to see happen?
