Wisconsin Abortion Ban is Saving Babies From Abortions While Court Case Continues

State   |   Micaiah Bilger   |   Nov 23, 2022   |   4:42PM   |   Madison, Wisconsin

A Wisconsin abortion ban that went into effect this summer likely will continue to save unborn babies from abortions for months as a lawsuit moves slowly through court.

Many states are battling lawsuits challenging their pro-life laws, and some have been temporarily stopped from protecting unborn babies. But the Wisconsin law is in effect, saving unborn babies from abortions daily.

In June, state Attorney General Josh Kaul, a pro-abortion Democrat, filed a lawsuit challenging his state’s pre-Roe v. Wade abortion ban, but he has not succeeded in convincing a court to block it.

Speaking with Wisconsin Public Radio on Monday, Kaul said he does not know how long it will be until the lawsuit is resolved. He told the AP that it could be several months.

“The litigation process is not a fast one,” Kaul said. “But we’re going to keep moving expeditiously.”

The Dane County Circuit Court, where he filed the case, has a 4-3 conservative majority, but one of the conservative judges is retiring and abortion activists hope to elect a leftist judge to fill the position in April, according to the report.

Here’s more from the AP:

Impending delays in the abortion lawsuit make it likely the case could land at the court after the new justice takes the bench in August. …

HELP LIFENEWS SAVE BABIES FROM ABORTION! Please help LifeNews.com with a donation!

The district attorneys [named in the lawsuit] were scheduled to file a response to the lawsuit by last Friday but they asked Judge Diane Schlipper to give them until Nov. 30 to respond along with any motions to dismiss, and to give all the parties until Feb. 6 to complete briefs on any dismissal motions. Online court records show Schlipper agreed. Once all the briefs are submitted, the judge could take months to hold a hearing and rule.

Kaul asserted that Wisconsin voters oppose a total abortion ban, pointing to the midterm election results and recent polls.

“It’s been clear, both from the election results but also from polling we’ve seen and from just what we’ve heard from people that the folks in Wisconsin do not want this 1849 ban to remain in place,” he said.

However, he also admitted that he decided to challenge the ban himself because voters keep electing a pro-life Republican-majority state legislature that will not repeal the law.

The case likely will end up in front of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which also has a conservative majority.

The law prohibits the killing of unborn babies in abortions. Exceptions are allowed if the mother’s life is at risk. In his lawsuit, the state attorney general claims the 1849 abortion ban, which could not be enforced under Roe v. Wade, basically was repealed when the state legislature passed new abortion regulations in 1985.

“… we’re going to continue working to move the case forward expeditiously because there are people being impacted by this ban right now,” Kaul said. “And we want to get resolution on these issues.”

Prior to the June ruling Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, abortions were legal for any reason up to 20 weeks in Wisconsin, and more than 6,400 unborn babies were aborted every year.

In June, the Supreme Court overturned Roe in a historic victory for life and returned the power to legislate abortion to the people. Because of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, states may protect unborn babies from abortion for the first time in nearly 50 years. New research estimates state pro-life laws have saved as many as 10,000 unborn babies’ lives since June.

Currently, Wisconsin and 12 other states are enforcing laws that ban or strictly limit abortions. Nine additional states are battling in court to legally protect unborn babies from abortion.