Pro-life groups are calling on liberal district attorneys in the Badger State’s two largest cities to enforce abortion statute as Planned Parenthood resumes performing abortions in Wisconsin.
Members of Wisconsin Right to Life, Wisconsin Family Action, and Pro-Life Wisconsin held a press conference last week at the state Capitol demanding Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne (pictured above, right) and his liberal counterpart, Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm (pictured above, left) follow statute 940.04, which prohibits most abortions in the state. The 1849 law, legal experts said, sprang back to life following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2024 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling in June 2022 that overturned Roe v. Wade.
Planned Parenthood resumed performing pre-born, life-ending abortions on September 18 at its Madison and Milwaukee clinics after liberal Dane County District Court Judge Diane Schlipper decided the 174-year-old state law doesn’t use the word “abortion,” so it does not apply to consensual procedures.
“There is no such thing as an `1849 Abortion Ban` in Wisconsin,” the judge wrote. Her interpretation is that the law prohibits the killing of the pre-born through assaulting and battering of the mother.
But the statute clearly notes penalties for those who “intentionally destroys the life of an unborn child.”
As of Friday, it appeared Schlipper’s interpretation of the law had yet to be challenged, as a lawsuit filed by Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul against the law and its penalties continues.
The matter ultimately is headed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) criticized Planned Parenthood’s decision to resume abortions but said lawmakers are still working through the legislative and legal process.
“So it’s very presumptive, and it’s one of the things that worries me about the independence of our judiciary,’ he said earlier this month.
Ozanne and Chisholm have said they will not enforce the 1849 law. Kaul has stood by his fellow liberal prosecutors.
“The rule of law is meaningless to them. The constitution, the oath of office, apparently that does not apply to them if they don’t like the law that they are supposed to be enforcing,” Julaine Appling, president of Wisconsin Family Action, told The Wisconsin Daily Star last week on the Vicki McKenna Show.
Appling said the pro-life groups held the press conference to let the public know the abortion industry and the liberal prosecutors fighting for it are breaking the law.
“Planned Parenthood is blatantly performing an illegal act here in Wisconsin. By performing abortions both in Milwaukee and Madison,’ said Heather Weininger, executive director of Wisconsin Right to Life. “Yet, they know full well they are not in danger of being prosecuted since District Attorneys Ozanne and Chisohlm have said they will not prosecute anyone who performs abortions in their counties.”
Appling said business was booming at the Milwaukee Planned Parenthood location as abortions resumed. Lines were out the door.
Meanwhile, Republican legislative leadership claiming the pro-life banner has yet to push back on the Dane County court ruling or Planned Parenthood’s resumption of abortions.
“They’ve been very loud by their silence,” Appling said. “For many people in Republican leadership the issue of life is still a difficult issue to be aggressive about. I’ve never understood it.”
Some Republicans have been skittish in coming to the defense of the abortion prohibition law or moving on new legislation clarifying Wisconsin abortion limits in the wake of Dobbs. The Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade recharged Democrats and some abortion-supporting independents in the 2022 election, with the issue helping to stave off an expected “red wave.”
Appling said anyone who values law and order should be concerned about the failure of liberal prosecutors to uphold the law.
“What I hope will really start resonating with rank and filed citizens is, No. 1, about the killing of pre-born children and, No. 2, it’s also the eradication of the rule of law in our country and our sate,” she said.
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M.D. Kittle is the National Political Editor for The Star News Network.
Photo “John Chisholm” by John Chisholm.
