Johnson applauds move that would trigger Wisconsin’s 172-year-old criminal abortion ban
Thursday, May 5, 2022
MADISON, Wis.—Today Senator Ron Johnson doubled down on his approval of the recently revealed draft opinion by the U.S. Supreme Court by saying “this is what should have happened 50 years ago.” The comments come after Senator Johnson appeared on Newsmax earlier this week and said SCOTUS had made the “correct decision,” even going so far as to say it was a “long time coming.”
Meghan Roh, Opportunity Wisconsin program director:
“Not only does Senator Johnson want to turn back the clock 50 years to a time when abortion was already illegal, but he’s now celebrating the idea of returning to Wisconsin’s 172-year-old criminal and cruel abortion ban. Access to safe, legal abortion is a basic human right—and a majority of Wisconsinites agree. Limits on our ability to make decisions about our own reproductive health have a direct impact on our economic security.
“It’s time for Senator Johnson to start working for the Badger State and support critical legislation like Senator Tammy Baldwin’s ‘Women’s Health Protection Act’ that would codify Roe v. Wade and ensure women across Wisconsin have the freedom to access safe abortion care.”
Should Roe v. Wade be overturned, Wisconsin’s 172-year-old criminal abortion ban could immediately go into effect, banning abortion at any point in pregnancy with no exceptions for rape, incest, or the health of the pregnant person—impacting nearly 1.3 million people across the Badger State. Over sixty percent of Wisconsin residents say abortion should be legal in most or all cases, a statistic that has held true for the last decade.
Since early 2021, Opportunity Wisconsin has been working to hold Senator Johnson accountable to his constituents and to demand he vote for policies that support Wisconsin residents. In addition to holding conversations with Wisconsin workers and families across the Badger State, Opportunity Wisconsin has spent over $5 million in TV ads urging Senator Johnson to focus his work in Washington on addressing the economic needs of his constituents and to stop putting his personal profits over the people of Wisconsin.
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