MADISON, Wis. – Ahead of this year’s midterm elections, Republican candidates are going all-in on an unpopular agenda to ban abortion. Republican politicians seeking positions from the governor’s office to the Legislature have launched a full-scale assault against reproductive health and are supporting an extremist agenda that would ban abortion, even in cases of rape and incest.
Elected Republicans Ron Johnson, Rep. Fitzgerald, Rep. Gallagher, Rep. Grothman, and Rep. Steil have led the charge – even though over 60% of Wisconsin voters believe that abortion should be legal in “all or most cases.” Ron Johnson has long advocated for taking away Wisconsinites’ reproductive freedoms and said that if people want access to abortion, they could simply “move” out of state.
Statewide candidates for governor have been quick to embrace this ultra-MAGA extremism as well – with Rebecca Kleefisch confirming that she does not support exceptions for victims of rape and incest and doubling down on her past assertion that rape victims should “turn lemons into lemonade.” Every single Republican running for governor has staked out the most extreme position on reproductive care.
Not to be outdone, Republican candidates for Attorney General have desperately embraced Republican extremism as well. Adam Jarchow and Eric Toney praised the draft decision to overturn Roe v. Wade – proving that Republican politicians’ blatant disregard for people’s health and bodily autonomy runs deep throughout their party.
The stakes of the 2022 elections have never been higher. As Republican politicians run on an agenda that would strip away access to reproductive health care and abortion, Democrats will continue to defend reproductive freedoms.
