Prosecutor Tells Wisconsin Court to Uphold Abortion Ban to Save Babies From Abortions

State   |   Micaiah Bilger   |   May 4, 2023   |   6:21PM   |   Madison, Wisconsin

A Wisconsin prosecutor urged a judge Thursday to throw out Democrat Attorney General Josh Kaul’s case against the state abortion ban, which is saving unborn babies’ lives daily.

During the hearing before Dane County Circuit Judge Diane Schlipper, attorney Matthew Thome said Kaul does not have grounds to sue because he is not being harmed by the law, according to Courthouse News Service. Thome, who represents three county prosecutors tasked with enforcing the pro-life law, asked the judge to dismiss the case.

The Wisconsin pre-Roe v. Wade abortion ban went into effect in June after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Dobbs v. Jackson. Now, unborn babies are being saved from abortion all across the state.

However, Kaul, a pro-abortion Democrat, filed a lawsuit challenging the ban, and three abortionists later joined him. They have not succeeded in convincing a court to block the law thus far.

Kaul’s lawsuit names district attorneys in counties where Planned Parenthood operated abortion facilities prior to the Dobbs ruling. Two are Democrats and one is a Republican, but all three said Kaul’s lawsuit “seeks to improperly restrict prosecutorial discretion” and he does not have standing to sue.

Sheboygan County District Attorney Joel Urmanski, the lone Republican, also is arguing that Kaul is wrong to claim that the law basically was repealed when the state legislature passed lesser abortion restrictions during Roe.

Before the judge Thursday, state Assistant Attorney General Hannah Jurss said other laws have replaced the abortion ban and it should not be enforced, according to Courthouse News.

“The best that District Attorney Urmansky can offer this court is to say that 940.04 sub. 1 should swallow every single one of Wisconsin’s many, many statutes regulating physicians providing lawful abortions,” she told the judge. “A whole group of statutes that exist here … clearly act as a substitute for the 19th-century law.”

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But Thome said the later laws do not replace the abortion ban. He quoted one law that specifically says the goal is “protect the life of the unborn child to the extent constitutionally permissible.” Under Roe, states were prohibited from protecting unborn babies from abortion prior to viability.

Thome also accused the pro-abortion attorney general of trying to bypass state lawmakers through the judicial system.

Here’s more from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

[Thome] argued Kaul was asking a judge to perform the duties of lawmakers and was ignoring the fact that lawmakers have put forward language to repeal the original abortion law and decided against passing it.

“We’re here today because ultimately the plaintiffs and the intervenors are asking the judiciary to do something that our policymaking branches not only haven’t done but they’ve expressly decided not to do.”

Speaking about the lawsuit late last year, District Attorney Urmanski said the state legislature and governor should be the ones to change the law, not the court, if they don’t believe it represents the will of the people. The Wisconsin Legislature has a pro-life majority; however, Gov. Tony Evers, a pro-abortion Democrat, has vetoed several pro-life bills in recent years.

The 19th century law prohibits the killing of unborn babies in abortions. Exceptions are allowed if the mother’s life is at risk. Prior to the Dobbs ruling, abortions were legal for any reason up to 20 weeks in Wisconsin, and more than 6,400 unborn babies were aborted every year.

If the attorney general succeeds, Wisconsin would go back to allowing unborn babies to be aborted for any reason up to 20 weeks.

Many expect the lawsuit eventually will go to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. In April, pro-abortion candidate Janet Protaziewicz was elected to the high court, flipping a conservative seat and creating a pro-abortion majority. As a result, the abortion ban likely will be blocked in the future.

Currently, Wisconsin is one of 15 states that protect unborn babies from abortion, and more are working to do the same this spring. While Wisconsin may lose its pro-life laws, other states like North Carolina, South Carolina, Iowa, Nebraska, Florida and Wyoming are working to increase protections for unborn babies.