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The now-overturned law had criminalized abortion except to save the life of the mother, punishing anyone besides the pregnant woman who “intentionally destroys the life of an unborn child” with up to six years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
But after Roe v. Wade was reversed, Wisconsin’s Democrat Governor Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul wasted no time suing to eliminate the law. According to The New York Times, “They argued that it had been effectively repealed over the years by other abortion regulations, including a law that prohibits abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy and one that imposes a 24-hour waiting period for abortions.”
The court’s liberal majority bought the argument.
Writing for the majority, Justice Rebecca Dallet claimed, “Comprehensive legislation enacted over the last 50 years regulating in detail the ‘who, what, where, when, and how’ of abortion so thoroughly covers the entire subject of abortion that it was meant as a substitute for the 19th century near-total ban on abortion.”
She further justified the ruling by saying the Legislature had implicitly repealed the law by passing more recent abortion restrictions. “Indeed, these statutes specify, often in extraordinary detail, the answer to nearly every conceivable question about abortion,” Dallet wrote. “Who may perform abortions? Only doctors. Where may abortions be performed? Within 30 miles of a hospital where the doctor has admitting privileges. When may abortions be performed? Prior to viability or 20 weeks of pregnancy except when necessary to preserve the life or health of the mother or in a medical emergency.”
The response to the decision fell along predictable party lines.
Republican Party of Wisconsin Chairman Brian Schimming issued a scathing statement: “The Wisconsin Supreme Court’s role is to follow the Constitution, not to make law. This issue should be resolved in the legislature and by voters, not by far-left justices parading as legislators.”
On the other side, Gov. Tony Evers celebrated, calling the decision “a win for women and families, a win for health care professionals who want to provide medically accurate care to their patients, and a win for basic freedoms in Wisconsin.” He added, “I will continue to fight any effort that takes away Wisconsinites’ reproductive freedom or makes reproductive health care, whether birth control, abortion, I.V.F., or fertility treatments, any less accessible in Wisconsin than it is today. That is a promise.”
Let’s be clear: this radical decision rests on shaky legal grounds. The idea that a long-standing law was somehow erased just because new laws were added — rather than explicitly repealed — is a legal stretch at best.
But the bottom line is this: conservatives didn’t show up when it mattered. The 2023 and 2025 elections could have easily gone red if Republican voters had recognized their importance. Instead, the left turned out in droves while the right stayed home.
Had Protasiewicz lost in 2023, there would’ve been no majority to kill the abortion ban. And without Crawford’s incoming appointment, the court might’ve tread more carefully, knowing a shift in ideology was still possible.
Elections have consequences — and in this case, it’s Wisconsin’s unborn children who will pay the price.
Patriots, let this be a wake-up call. Every election matters — not just the flashy presidential ones. If we don’t show up and fight for every seat, every vote, and every state, we surrender the battlefield by default.
Don’t let it happen again.
