Democratic Party of Wisconsin Jewish caucus statement on Dobbs anniversary

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The Jewish Caucus of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin released a statement Monday on the two-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade.

“The Dobbs decision upended nearly 50 years of precedent that protected the right to safe and legal abortion. Today, the Caucus called for action to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act, introduced by Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut),” the caucus wrote Monday.

Statement:

“Two years ago today, a Supreme Court majority hand-picked by Donald Trump overturned Roe v. Wade, which for 50 years guaranteed the right to safe and legal abortion throughout the country. This unprecedented and immoral decision defied our values as Americans and as Jews.

Decisions about starting a family and continuing an unintended or untenable pregnancy are personal and private. Individuals should have the freedom to make reproductive health care determinations, in consultation with family and physicians and consistent with their faith, but without interference from extremist politicians or activist courts.

In Wisconsin abortion became unavailable for a full year after the Dobbs ruling. Though abortion services returned to the state after a judge ruled an 1849 ban unenforceable, that decision has been appealed. Therefore, the future of abortion access in Wisconsin hangs in the balance.

Abortion bans put lives in danger. Even in states where abortion remains legal, including Wisconsin, Republicans continue to oppose it. Without Roe v. Wade protecting our reproductive freedom, Congress must act to restore women’s rights regarding reproductive health decisions. The Women’s Health Protection Act, proposed by Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin and Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal, would guarantee the right to abortion access nationwide.
And we must reject Donald Trump’s promises to ban abortion nationwide by re-electing President Biden and Vice President Harris. Their administration has worked consistently to protect our reproductive freedom and expand access to abortion, contraception, IVF, and other reproductive health care.”

Later Monday morning, Wisconsin Rep. Lisa Subeck issued a statement.

“While access to abortion has been restored, our freedom to make our own reproductive health decisions remains in jeopardy,” said Subeck. “Republican extremists in the Wisconsin legislature have stepped up their attacks, introducing new abortion bans and restrictions. We need action at the state and federal levels to protect the right to make our own health care decisions without interference from politicians.”

In Wisconsin, Rep. Subeck and Democrats have introduced Restore Roe legislation to repeal Wisconsin’s 1849 ban, the Right to Contraception Act to protect access to birth control, and other measures to protect reproductive freedom. At the federal level, Senator Tammy Baldwin and her Democratic colleagues in Congress have introduced the Women’s Health Protection Act to restore and protect the right to comprehensive reproductive health care, as well as a federal Right to Contraception law.

“It matters who is in power, and that becomes clearer with every new Republican attempt to ban abortion care or contraception,” said Subeck. “While Democrats in Wisconsin and around the country work to pass bills that protect and expand our reproductive freedom, Republican extremists continue their assault on those same freedoms despite overwhelming opposition from those they represent.”

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

Later Tuesday morning, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers also issued a statement.

“Two years ago today, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe, ending a constitutional right to abortion that Wisconsinites and Americans across our country had depended upon for almost a half-century. Millions of Wisconsin women woke up two years ago and learned they’d just become second-class citizens overnight with fewer rights than they had the day before and fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers had before them,” said Evers. “Because of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe, Wisconsin women spent over a year experiencing firsthand what it’s like to live in a state that bans nearly all abortions, even in cases of rape and incest—a situation no one should ever be forced to face.

“We said two years ago that the decision to overturn Roe would not be the end of the attacks on reproductive freedom in America, and, unfortunately, we were right. Republican lawmakers and their allies across our country have spent the last two years pushing to roll back access to emergency contraception, birth control, and abortion care and medication while blocking efforts to protect access to in vitro fertilization and other fertility treatments. Today, because of these Republican-backed attacks on reproductive freedom, millions of women face significant barriers getting the reproductive healthcare they need, if they can access it at all,” Evers noted.

“As long as I am governor, I will veto any bill that takes away Wisconsinites’ reproductive freedom or makes reproductive healthcare any less accessible than it is today. Period. And I will never stop fighting to make sure Wisconsinites have the freedom to make the deeply personal reproductive healthcare decisions that are right for them without interference from politicians who don’t know anything about their life circumstances, values, or responsibilities—that’s a promise,” Evers added.