GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – On Wednesday, Wisconsin Supreme Court justices struck down the state’s 1849 abortion ban drawing mixed reviews from Wisconsinites.
That law had banned abortions in almost all instances except when the life of the mother was at risk. The law lay dormant for decades after the introduction of Roe v. Wade. in 1973. It reactivated in June 2022 when U.S. Supreme Court justices issued the Dobbs decision ending the federal constitutional right to an abortion.
Since Roe v. Wade fell, Dr. Kristin Lyerly, a Wisconsin obstetrician-gynecologist (OB-GYN), has emerged as one of the faces for Wisconsin’s pro-choice movement. On Wednesday afternoon, she spoke with Local 5 News about her reaction to the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s decision on this issue.
“It feels like a step in the right direction, but I’m not in this because I’m trying to win battles,” she said. “I’m in this because my patients need healthcare.”
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Previous challenges to the ban allowed ‘Planned Parenthood’ clinics to reopen, but many hospital systems and physicians decided to avoid offering abortion care at the time because there was still confusion about what was and wasn’t allowed under the law. Lyerly said the Supreme Court justices’ decision changes all of that.
“Now that the Supreme Court has weighed in many of these hospital systems, these physicians that have been waiting, the message is very clear they can move forward they can offer their patients the care they need and deserve,” said Lyerly.
With the Supreme Court clearing the way for physicians to provide abortion care to patients, Lyerly said her focus is going to be helping patients in rural Wisconsin communities. She said it was these areas the abortion ban harmed the most.
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“I took an oath to take care of my patients, we sit in an exam room and we come up with a solution for them,” Lyerly said. “(Finding) a solution that works in their lives that is the greatest joy of being a doctor. When I can’t do that I have to fight for them.”
While Lyerly and other pro-choice advocates celebrate the Wisconsin Supreme Court justices’ latest ruling, others condemned it. This includes state senator Andre Jacque.
“Blatant example of judicial activism just simply disregarding those laws that you disagree with personally and that’s extremely dangerous to our state,” he told Local 5 News.
Wisconsin Supreme Court justices are supposed to be non-partisan, but it’s no secret that some justices lean left and others lean to the right. Liberal-leaning justices hold a 4-3 majority on the state’s high court right now which to many made it feel inevitable that they would eventually overturn the 1849 abortion ban.
Judge Janet Protasiewicz received heavy criticism from Republicans when she constantly talked about her views on abortion rights on the campaign trail back in 2023.
“Given the liberal majority they were going to go through every contortion that was necessary to strike down something that they didn’t agree with,” Jacque said.
Throughout his legislative career, Jacque has strongly opposed abortion rights and has consistently pushed back on attempts for taxpayers dollars to be used for abortion services. For this reason as well, he said the Wisconsin Supreme Court decision disappointed him.
“I believe that both science, reason, and morality point to (preserving) life at every stage of development,” he said. “I think it’s very hard to arbitrarily draw a line where life begins. I want to protect the vulnerable across the board whether that is the unborn, individuals inflicted by domestic violence or sexual assault.”
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A big part of the justices’ argument for throwing out the 1849 abortion ban is that there’s more recent laws that deal with the topic that supersede the 19th century law. These laws allow abortions up to when the child can live outside the womb which is around the 20th week of a pregnancy.
A local prosecutor told Local 5 News that in practice it’s very rare for people to face charges for violating a 20 week abortion ban.
“This is a really important judgement, and it means that women in Wisconsin can access fundamental, reproductive, healthcare,” Lyerly said.
