The Democrat Governor of Wisconsin is now offering clemency for an doctors who perform abortions after a Wisconsin law made them illegal.
Abortions became illegal in Wisconsin when the Supreme Court reversed the Roe v Wade decision. This triggered a law from over 170 years ago which outlaws abortions in the state and was never taken off the books.
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Evers said, “The 1849 law says that anybody that provides an abortion is subject to a felony, one to six years,’ ‘Did you ever think about the word clemency? I will provide clemency to any physician that is charged under that law.’
“I don’t think that a law that was written before the Civil War, or before women secured the right to vote, should be used to dictate these intimate decisions on reproductive health,” the Governor continued.
Evers also railed against the decision of the Court to reverse Roe v Wade, calling it bullshit while also saying Democrats need to do better if they want to codify it into a real national right.
Wisconsin is one of several states affected by so-called “trigger laws”, which were laws on the books that were ineffective until abortion was sent back to the states by the Supreme Court. The others affected by similar laws include Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Texas, Oklahoma, and Wyoming.
Granting clemency to abortion doctors will essentially waive their alleged felony and allow them to continue performing abortions regardless of the laws in place. A similar tactic could be used in other states with Democrat Governors like Louisiana where the Republican legislator may try and ban abortion.
The idea of granting clemency to abortion doctors is certain to raise legal questions, although it also seems like it could be viable since abortions will be state level felonies, something Governors can grant clemency and pardons for. Do you think more Democrats will start using this tool to protect abortion access in states that they control the Governor’s mansion?
