A Wisconsin judge has ruled that an 1849 law does not actually protect preborn children from abortion, setting up a potential challenge in the state Supreme Court. Dane County Circuit Judge Diane Schlipper ruled that the 174-year-old law applies to feticide (an act of homicide against a fetus committed by someone other than the child’s mother), but not abortion (initiated by the child’s mother).
The statute is worded: Any person, other than the mother, who intentionally destroys the life of an unborn child is guilty of a Class H felony. Yet Schlipper said that this wording referred to someone attacking a pregnant woman and causing a miscarriage rather than abortion.
WARNING: Disturbing photos below.
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul previously sued to block prosecution of the law, and he celebrated Schlipper’s ruling in a statement. “Freedom wins. Equality wins. Women’s health wins,” he said. “This ruling is a momentous victory, and we are prepared to defend it — and reproductive freedom in Wisconsin.”
Apparently, this is “freedom,” “equality,” and “women’s health”:
Photo of 10-week aborted baby: Reddit user brazen 177
Face of a preborn child with feet, hand, rib cage, blood and placenta. Aborted at 21 weeks using the D&E abortion procedure.
With the ruling, Wisconsin will return to its laws prior to the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling, which overturned Roe v. Wade. Abortion will now be legal through 20 weeks gestation.
Planned Parenthood, the country’s largest abortion organization, has already announced that it will begin committing abortions again, “as soon as possible.”
Wisconsin Right to Life legislative director Gracie Skogman slammed the ruling, calling it “truly disappointing.”
The case is expected to make its way to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which Julaine Appling — president of Wisconsin Family Action — said she looks forward to. “This doesn’t change anything about what we’re doing,” she said. “We are about a culture of life, and we’re going to promote that and do everything we can to help people to understand that we are about saving babies, but we’re also about making sure women are fully informed about this life-taking decision, about options they have, about consequences and encouraging them to explore that, and be very, very careful before they make a decision to have an abortion.”
Previously, she pointed out that the 1849 law has never actually been repealed. “No court has ruled that it is not enforceable,” Appling said. “It is still illegal in most instances for anyone to do an abortion in Wisconsin. So what the governor and Planned Parenthood are doing is promoting an illegal activity. Unfortunately, this illegal activity is life-taking because it’s the intentional killing of an unborn child.”
Sheboygan County District Attorney Joel Urmanski has already issued a statement saying he disagreed with the ruling, and announcing his plans to appeal. The city of Sheboygan is home to one of the three Planned Parenthood facilities in Wisconsin.
“As I have previously stated, I believe that, properly interpreted, the statute at issue prohibits performing abortions (including consensual abortions) unless the exception for abortions necessary to save the life of the mother applies,” he said in his statement. “The Dane County Circuit Court has held otherwise, and I am obligated to comply with that ruling unless the decision is stayed pending appeal or ultimately reversed. To be clear, I disagree with and intend to appeal the decision. In my view, the statute plainly applies to abortions and, while it may be that the citizens of the State of Wisconsin would be better served by a different statute, I do not believe it is my job or the role of the courts to make that determination. It is an issue for the Legislature and the Governor to resolve.”
