FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: Wednesday, June 8, 2022
CONTACT: Representative Lisa Subeck, 608-266-7521 (office)

Representative Lisa Subeck Calls on Legislature to Repeal Archaic Abortion Ban; Supports Governor’s Order to Convene Special Session

MADISON – Today, Governor Tony Evers called for a Special Session of the Legislature to consider a bill to repeal Wisconsin’s 173 year old criminal abortion ban. Representative Lisa Subeck (D-Madison), who has authored the Abortion Rights Preservation Act to repeal the archaic ban, released the following statement.

“When and if to become a parent is one of the most personal and consequential decisions an individual will make, yet a pending Supreme Court decision threatens our ability to make these decisions privately and without interference from politicians.

If Roe v. Wade is overturned, abortion would be immediately illegal in Wisconsin, and doctors would be subject to felony criminal penalties. The recent leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion gives us a glimpse into what is to come, and the threat to safe and legal abortion care in our state is real and imminent.

Plainly and simply, abortion is health care, not criminal activity, and every individual should be free to make their own health care decisions. When abortion is banned, the need does not go away, putting the health and lives of those seeking abortion care in jeopardy.

This is why I have fought so hard for the Abortion Rights Preservation Act, which would overturn Wisconsin’s 1849 criminal abortion ban. Now, I call upon Republican leadership in the legislature to finally allow a hearing and a vote on the bill.

Thank you to Governor Evers for moving to end Republican inaction by calling a special legislative session on repealing Wisconsin’s criminal abortion ban. Republicans, who have for years refused to even hold a hearing on the Abortion Rights Preservation Act, should put reproductive freedom ahead of politics by heeding the governor’s call to protect the health and safety of all Wisconsinites.”

Representative Lisa Subeck has represented the 78th Assembly District since 2015 and serves as Chair of the Assembly Democratic Caucus.

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