Wisconsin high court hears abortion case

The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Monday heard oral arguments about whether state officials can enforce a law protecting nearly all unborn babies from abortion. The state’s top court faced a decision on whether the state’s first pro-life law can be used to outlaw abortion. The law, which dates back to 1849, prohibits anyone but the mother from killing an unborn baby.

Wisconsin Right to Life Executive Director Heather Weininger said in a released statement that, from the arguments on Monday, it seemed clear that the state Supreme Court was trying to legislate from the bench, instead of rule on the merits of a lower court’s decision. It was not clear when the Supreme Court would rule on the case, according to the pro-life organization.

How did we get here? The case dates back to June 2022, when Attorney General Josh Kaul filed a lawsuit after the overturning of Roe v. Wade, arguing that a 1985 law prohibiting post-viability abortions replaced the older law. Several abortionists later joined the case on his side. The lower court interpreted the law as banning only feticide and found that it did not protect unborn babies from abortions their mothers consented to. State officials could not use the law to punish women for aborting their unborn babies, the judge ruled.

So why is this going before the Wisconsin Supreme Court? Sheboygan District Attorney Joel Urmanski appealed the lower court’s decision. Urmanski asked the state’s high court for a clear answer about whether Wisconsin’s constitution protects a woman’s right to abort her unborn baby, or protects the unborn babies from abortion.

Dig deeper: Read Christina Grube’s report from earlier this year about the Wisconsin Supreme Court agreeing to hear this case.