Wausau, WI –Today, Dr. Gillian Battino, candidate for Wisconsin Treasurer, released the following statement regarding the leaked Roe v. Wade opinion.
“The rights of women in Wisconsin hang in the balance. Wisconsin is one of many states with ‘pre-Roe’ abortion bans that were never declared unconstitutional. Women in this state could be subjected to an abortion ban from 1849, a time before the abolishment of slavery and before women were allowed to vote. Republicans want to take us back to the darkest days in our nation’s history. And they have been planning it for decades.
The fact is, overturning Roe will not mean fewer abortions; it will mean more unsafe abortions. According to the World Health Organization, a woman dies every 8 minutes from an unsafe abortion. With this decision, that number will skyrocket. Black and brown women will suffer the most.
As a physician, I have personally witnessed the tremendous pain endured by so many patients and their families in the face of extraordinarily tragic circumstances. Navigating how to manage a pregnancy while facing horrific, often life threatening health emergencies is devastating. These situations leave no place for an archaic rule from an archaic time constructed by the hands of misogyny, racism and greedy power mongers. Make no mistake: this is about maintaining their power.
The fact that we’re talking about the same Republicans who refuse to support sex education, pregnancy prevention and real investment in every child is proof. They don’t care about mothers and children. They care about power.
Abortion is health care. Period. We must elect more women into office who understand that.”
