Wisconsin Democrats slam Republican proposed abortion exceptions bill.

• Author: Schuster, Steve

Byline: Steve Schuster, sschuster@dailyreporter.com

By Steve Schuster

sschuster@dailyreporter.com

The Republican controlled Wisconsin Legislature unveiled a measure Wednesday creating an exception to the state's 1849 abortion ban in cases of rape and incest.

The proposed bill has received criticism from Wisconsin Democrats.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said, "I won't sign a bill that leaves Wisconsin women with fewer rights and freedoms than they had before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe."

Democrats on the Legislature agreed with Evers.

"The bill introduced by Republicans today is nothing more than political theater," said Representative Lisa Subeck, a Madison Democrat.

"Abortion is health care. And decisions about when and if to terminate a pregnancy should be made by women, their families, and their physicians without interference by politicians. To restore our freedom to make our own reproductive health decisions, we must not stop short of full repeal of Wisconsin's 1849-era criminal abortion ban," Subeck added.

The Republican bill was introduced as a pending lawsuit backed by Evers is attempting to overturn the 1849 ban entirely. Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul filed the lawsuit a few days after Roe v. Wade was overturned. The state argues that a 1985 law allowing abortions up to the point of a fetus' viability supersedes Wisconsin's 174-year-old ban on nearly all abortions, The Associated Press reported.

Under current Wisconsin law, it is a felony to perform most abortions. The Republican bill would allow for abortions only in the first 12 weeks of a pregnancy for victims of rape or incest. The measure does not limit termination of pregnancies causing "a serious risk of death of the pregnant woman or of substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function of the woman."

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