MADISON — In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade three years ago—a decision that effectively forced Wisconsin to operate under a near-complete abortion ban, even in the cases of rape and incest, for over a year—the Wisconsin Supreme Court today released a decision protecting reproductive freedom and affirming Wisconsinites continue to have access to abortion care in a challenge brought by Gov. Tony Evers and Attorney General Kaul.
The governor initially announced a lawsuit over three years ago after an archaic 1800s-era statute drafted before the Civil War and at a time when Wisconsin women did not have the right to vote caused chaos for women and reproductive healthcare in Wisconsin after the Dobbs decision.
Gov. Evers, who has consistently fought against Republican attacks on reproductive freedom and healthcare during his time as governor, released the following statement:
“Three years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court upended five decades of precedent and threw reproductive freedom in Wisconsin—and across our country—into chaos. I promised then to fight like hell to ensure every Wisconsinite has the freedom to consult their family, their faith, and their doctor and make the reproductive healthcare decision that is right for them, and I’ve never stopped. Today, the Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld that basic freedom.
“Thanks to our lawsuit, today’s decision affirms that access to reproductive healthcare will continue to be available, helping ensure Wisconsin women today are not forced to face firsthand what it’s like to live in a state that bans nearly all abortions, even in cases of rape and incest.
“Today is a win for women and families, a win for healthcare 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 healthcare, whether birth control, abortion, IVF, or fertility treatments, any less accessible in Wisconsin than it is today. That is a promise.”
BACKGROUND ON GOV. EVERS’ EFFORTS TO PROTECT AND DEFEND REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization to overturn Roe threw reproductive freedom in Wisconsin into chaos due to confusion caused by an outdated 1849-era statute enacted before the Civil War and at a time when Wisconsin women did not have the right to vote. This upended the constitutional right to abortion that Wisconsinites and Americans relied upon for nearly 50 years. As a result, in the wake of the Dobbs decision, Wisconsin women spent over a year experiencing a functional near-total abortion ban, even in cases of rape or incest. During that time, according to Planned Parenthood of Illinois, Illinois saw a 600 percent increase in Wisconsin patients.
Gov. Evers believes Wisconsinites should be able to make their own reproductive healthcare decisions without interference from politicians who do not know anything about their faith, family, or circumstances, which is why days after the Dobbs decision was released, Gov. Evers and Attorney General Kaul filed a lawsuit to clarify that Wisconsin’s outdated, total criminal ban on abortion is unenforceable. In July 2023, a court ruling in Gov. Evers’ litigation challenging the state’s outdated abortion statute determined the 1849-era law does not prohibit abortions in Wisconsin, enabling healthcare providers to resume providing abortion care in Wisconsin in 2023.
Prior to the Dobbs decision, Gov. Evers joined legislative Democrats in calling on the Legislature to repeal Wisconsin’s 1849-era statute. When a leaked draft of the U.S. Supreme Court opinion in Dobbs revealed that the Supreme Court was poised to overturn Roe, Gov. Evers called the Legislature into a special session to push for legislative action to protect reproductive freedom. However, Republican legislators gaveled in and out of the special session in moments without any discussion or debate.
Additionally, over the course of the past six years, the governor has vetoed several bills passed by the Wisconsin State Legislature, including several that would have restricted access to abortion, inserted politics into the personal and private conversations between patients and their healthcare providers, and made it harder for doctors to provide medically accurate information and treatment. Many of these bills also sought to limit healthcare options for people seeking basic, necessary care, such as pregnancy care, cancer screening and prevention, sexually transmitted disease screening and treatment, and wellness exams.
Attacks on reproductive freedoms have continued across the country in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe. In the interceding years, efforts backed by Republican lawmakers and their allies have been underway nationwide to either obstruct protections for or further restrict access to abortion, birth control, emergency contraception, in vitro fertilization, other fertility treatments, and the safe, effective, and widely used abortion medication, mifepristone.
Gov. Evers will continue to fight these efforts and remains committed to vetoing any bill that takes away Wisconsinites’ reproductive freedom or makes reproductive healthcare any less accessible in Wisconsin than it is today.
Last Update: Jul 02, 2025 10:53 am CDT
