Elections Have Consequences: Wisconsin Supreme Court Strike Down 1849 Abortion Law

Last year, despite millions of dollars that flooded into the campaign from Elon Musk, Wisconsin votes chose moderate liberal Susan Crawford over extreme conservative Brad Schimel to serve on their Supreme Court. The election wasn’t close:

• Crawford— 1,301,137 (55.1%)

• Schimel— 1,062,330 (44.9%)

Shockingly every single county— no exceptions— moved in a progressive direction compared to the 2024 presidential election. So, for example, solidly blue Dane County moved 12 points bluer, while solidly red Waukesha County moved 4.4 points bluer. Even the reddest rural counties that still backed Schimel moved in favor of Crawford compared to Kamala:

• Walworth Co. +10 points

• Chippewa Co. +13 points

• Juneau Co. +14 points

• Grant Co. +18 points

Because of this trend, a dozen counties flipped blue, including big ones like Brown, Outagamie, Racine, Kenosha and Winnebago. And voters had any number of reasons but certainly the biggest of all was women’s Choice. Crawford was clearly for it and Schimel was hysterically opposed. It just as well could have been an abortion referendum. So, on Wednesday morning when the court ruled 4-3 to invalidate the abortion ban, most Wisconsinites were glad.

Governor Tony Evers: “Today is 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, but our work is not over. 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.” The GOP went bonkers, of course, state party chair denouncing the members of the court as “far-left justices parading as legislators.”

Emily Berge, president of the Eau Claire City Council and a candidate for the western Wisconsin congressional seat held by MAGA-aligned, anti-Choice fanatic Derrick Van Orden, was one of the Wisconsinites happy with the decision. She told us that “the Court invalidated the 1849 state law that made abortions a criminal act. Let’s not forget that when this archaic law was passed, women in our nation did not even have the right to vote. Republicans often say abortion is a state's rights issue. This is not, and never has been, a 'state's rights' issue; it is a fundamental human right. Where you live should never determine your access to essential healthcare, including abortion. Denying safe, legal abortion care leads to tragic consequences, endangering and costing women their lives. Every individual deserves the dignity and personal freedom to make decisions about their own body and their future, without political interference. We must ensure that healthcare, in its entirety, is accessible to all, no matter their zip code.”

State Senator Chris Larson was another happy Wisconsinite: “The WI Supreme Court has invalidated the state's 1849 abortion law, arguing that subsequent legislation has implicitly repealed it. This is a huge win for reproductive freedom in our state! Little by little, state by state, Americans are regaining the right to reproductive freedom that was stripped away by the Republicans on the US Supreme Court. With each gain, our determination and our numbers grow. They may continue to throw up impediments, but America is coming for this corrupt court. We will regain every right the right-wing extremists have stripped away.” You can help his and Emily’s election efforts here.

Molly Beck, reporting for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, wrote that “the decision ends three years of tumult over the issue following the 2022 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that overturned Roe v. Wade, which had provided women nationwide with a constitutional right to abortion… Attorney General Josh Kaul argued in the lawsuit that the 1849 law has been invalidated by abortion laws passed since the Roe v. Wade decision, including requirements that a woman must undergo an ultrasound before an abortion, along with a counseling appointment and a 24-hour waiting period, and restrictions on medication abortions and telehealth access.”