(PresidentialHill.com)- Pro-abortion activists entered the Wisconsin State Capitol last week after Democrat Governor Tony Evers tried to call a special legislative meeting in an attempt to overturn the state’s 1849 abortion law. The Republican-controlled legislature denied the special meeting and blocked the overturn of the law as activists surrounded the capitol from the inside, according to The Post Millennial.
The abortion law, unenforceable since 1973, was implemented in 1849 and will reportedly go into effect as a result of Roe v Wade being overturned. The law would penalize those who perform or assist abortions but would not “explicitly punish pregnant women for performing self-induced abortions,” according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The state’s Attorney General Josh Kaul issued a statement regarding the nearly two-century old ban, saying that it would not be easy to logistically manage and enforce given changes in medical practices. He said there would be “widespread uncertainty about the state law as people try to decipher whether, and if so how, an archaic and long-dormant 19th-century law would apply to 21st-century medicine.”
Wisconsin state law requires the legislature to meet if the governor calls a special session, however, the duration of the session is at the hands of lawmakers. As activists were heard chanting loudly outside of the chamber, Republicans ended both Senate and Assembly sessions in under 30 seconds.
Pro-choice demonstrators chant in the state Capitol rotunda.
Gov. Evers has called a special session today for the repeal of Wisconsin's 1849 abortion ban.
GOP legislative leaders are expected to gavel in and out of the session this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/dse5E5Xrpp
— A.J. Bayatpour (@AJBayatpour) June 22, 2022
Assembly minority leader Representative Greta Neubauer repeated the typical adage, saying that everyone should have reproductive care and should have the ability to “consult their family, their faith, and their doctor” regarding whether or not to terminate a baby.
Assembly Minority Leader @RepGreta: “Every single Wisconsinite must have the right to make reproductive health care decisions that are right for them. They should have the ability to consult their family, their faith and their doctor.” pic.twitter.com/EUdfIdnKQi
— Jessie Opoien (@jessieopie) June 22, 2022
The protestors, donned in pink Planned Parenthood shirts chanted “hey hey, ho ho, abortion bans have got to go” and “whose choice? Our choice. If we don’t get it? Shut it down.”
The event came just before the Supreme Court overruled Roe v Wade in their landmark decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization, where the majority opinion stated that abortion is not a constitutional right, not found in any of our amendments and not found in the nation’s traditions and history.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Tim Michels, in response to violence toward pro-life centers, urged the governor to be prepared for “impending acts of mass civil disobedience,” according to The Post Millennial.
