Wisconsin officials intervene in Planned Parenthood action

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Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul announced Tuesday that the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a motion and memorandum in support of the Kaul v. Urmanski State Plaintiffs intervening as petitioners in the Planned Parenthood v. Urmanski original action.

Both Kaul v. Urmanski and Planned Parenthood v. Urmanski are currently before the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Kaul asks whether Wisconsin “does” have a near-total abortion ban and Planned Parenthood asks whether, under the Wisconsin Constitution, Wisconsin “could” have a near-total abortion ban.

The Kaul State Plaintiffs have asked to intervene as petitioners in Planned Parenthood to be able to fully argue that the answer to both questions is “no.”

“We are seeking to intervene in this case to help establish that the Wisconsin Constitution protects access to safe and legal abortion and does not permit the state legislature to ban nearly all abortions,” said Kaul. “The government should not be able to control critical reproductive health decisions,” Kaul added.

The Kaul v. Urmanski State Plaintiffs consist of Attorney General Josh Kaul, the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services, the Wisconsin Medical Examining Board, and the Chair of the Wisconsin Medical Examining Board, Clarence P. Chou, MD. The memorandum in support of the Kaul State Plaintiffs’ motion to intervene explains that the Kaul State Plaintiffs’ have significant interests in the outcome of the Planned Parenthood original action, including their interests as plaintiffs in the connected Kaul v. Urmanski case and their roles as state officials that led them to bring that suit.

Kaul v. Urmanski began in June 2022, when Gov. Tony Evers and Kaul announced their lawsuit arguing that Wis. Stat. § 940.04, at times been publicly referred to as “Wisconsin’s 1800s-era abortion ban,” cannot be enforced as to abortion.

According to Kaul, the Dane County Circuit Court ruled that the 1800s law bans only feticide, not consensual abortions. In addition to continuing to advance their arguments in Kaul v. Urmanski before the Wisconsin Supreme Court, by moving to intervene in Planned Parenthood v. Urmanski, they seek to argue that the rights guaranteed to Wisconsinites by the Wisconsin Constitution would prohibit a near-total abortion ban.

In a statement Wednesday, Evers recommitted to restore and protect reproductive freedom in Wisconsin.

“With looming Republican threats of enacting a national abortion ban and rolling back access to birth control and emergency contraception, our fight to restore Roe and protect access to safe, legal abortion has never been more important,” Evers said.

“Every Wisconsinite should have access to the healthcare they need when they need it, and they should be able to make their own reproductive healthcare decisions without interference from politicians who know nothing about their faith, family, or circumstances. Period,” Evers added.