It’s been three months since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, and with the midterm elections around the corner, we’re reminding Wisconsinites just how out of touch the Republican candidates on the ballot are when it comes to choice. If elected, candidates like Tim Michels, Ron Johnson, Eric Toney, and Derrick Van Orden have made it clear that they will bring Wisconsin and the country backward on reproductive freedom. 

Here’s a refresher on Wisconsin Republicans’ extreme, anti-choice agenda:

Tim Michels

Ahead of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson, GOP candidate for governor Tim Michels said he “worked” and “prayed” for Roe v. Wade to be overturned.

Michels argued that the state’s 1849 abortion ban, which doesn’t include exceptions for victims of rape or incest and criminalizes doctors, is “an exact mirror” of his position. Michels has even said that it’s “not unreasonable” to force a pregnant rape victim to “go through birth,” – a position so extreme that 79% of Republicans in Wisconsin disagree with him. 

Michels also recently came under fire for donating tens of thousands of dollars to anti-abortion groups that have tried to prevent abortions in Wisconsin by tracking people’s location using their cellphone data and intimidating people through “sidewalk counseling.” One group he donated to even wants to ban all contraception and IVF.  

Ron Johnson

Republican Senate candidate Ron Johnson called the Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade a thing of “beauty,” and he even took credit for his role in confirming the right-wing judges that made the decision. When it comes to abortion access in Wisconsin, he’s said those who don’t like the state’s abortion laws “can move.

Johnson has also cosponsored every version of Senator Lindsey Graham’s federal abortion ban bill for the last 10 years. 

Eric Toney

Republican attorney general candidate Eric Toney cheered the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, and said he would provide more resources for district attorney’s offices to enforce Wisconsin’s archaic abortion ban. Toney has fully embraced Wisconsin’s near-total ban with no exceptions for rape and incest, saying that as attorney general he would fully enforce the 1849 law – which includes jailing doctors for simply doing their jobs. 

Derrick Van Orden

Insurrectionist Derrick Van Orden, Republican candidate for WI-03, opposes abortion even in cases of rape or incest. Van Orden has gone as far as saying that victims of rape or incest who seek an abortion are “just compounding the evil” of the assault and has compared abortion to “genocide.

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