MADISON, Wis. – Gubernatorial candidates Rebecca Kleefisch and Tim Michels both want to dangerously restrict access to abortion care in Wisconsin.
Rebecca Kleefisch told Milwaukee’s Fox 6 that she supports a total ban on abortion in Wisconsin even in cases of rape and incest with her spokesperson confirming that she opposes abortion “under any circumstance.” She also once agreed that rape victims should “turn lemons to lemonade” by carrying a pregnancy resulting from their assault.
During his 2004 run for Senate, Tim Michels said that it was “not unreasonable” to force rape victims to give birth. His extremism on abortion continues in this election. Michels recently described Wisconsin’s 1849 ban on abortion that doesn’t include exceptions for rape or incest as “an exact mirror” of his position.
Both candidates have also been supported at some point in their political careers by Pro-Life Wisconsin, an extremist anti-abortion group that believes in banning abortion in all cases, and is now lobbying to remove exceptions for when a patient’s life is in danger from Wisconsin’s 1849 ban. The organization is even opposed to all forms of “artificial contraception.”
Governor Evers will continue doing the right thing to protect a person’s ability to make their own health care decisions. He is the last line of defense in Wisconsin on protecting access to abortion and has vetoed nine bills restricting abortion and reproductive health care pushed by Wisconsin Republicans.
“Republicans are poised to restrict access to critical health care and enforce an archaic 1849 ban that was enacted before the Civil War,” said Hannah Menchhoff, Democratic Party of Wisconsin Rapid Response Director. “Tim Michels and Rebecca Kleefisch are on the extremes of this issue and out of touch with our state — the majority of Wisconsinites believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases.”