MILWAUKEE – More than 300 medical professionals from across Wisconsin have signed a letter urging voters to support Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Janet Protasiewicz for the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The letter and its signers were featured in a full-page ad in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel today. Three signers gathered virtually to discuss why they are reaching out to voters about the election taking place in one week, on April 4th.
“With this advertisement and our advocacy, medical professionals want to make loud and clear that Wisconsinites should stand up for reproductive freedom and health by electing Judge Janet Protasiewicz,” said Dr. Jill Cousino, an OB/GYN in southern Wisconsin and member of the Committee to Protect Health Care (CTP), who speaks on her own behalf and not on behalf of her employer. “With an election likely to have enormous consequences for abortion access taking place in just one week, medical professionals are speaking out in support of our patients and all Wisconsin women. Like Judge Protasiewicz, we believe in a woman’s freedom to make her own decisions around her body and her health care, and the majority of Wisconsinites who agree should keep this in mind when voting next Tuesday.”
Judge Janet Protasiewicz has been clear about her support for a woman’s right to make her own decisions around abortion. On Tuesday, her opponent, former justice Daniel Kelly, appeared at an event headlined by a pastor who has called murdering abortion providers “justifiable homicide.” Kelly has tried to downplay his anti-abortion stance of late, but has made inflammatory statements about abortion and been endorsed by three anti-abortion organizations, including one to which he provided legal guidance.
“As Daniel Kelly tries to downplay his extremist views against abortion, medical professionals are raising the alarm and bringing awareness to the consequences of this election for Wisconsin women,” said Dr. Madelaine Tully, a family physician in Milwaukee County and member of CTP. “Mr. Kelly has been endorsed by multiple anti-abortion organizations, including one which supports banning abortion with no exceptions even for the woman’s life. Mr. Kelly’s track record goes against medical principles and the beliefs of most Wisconsinites.”
Currently, abortion is illegal in Wisconsin except when the life of the mother is in danger, due to an 1849 abortion ban. The court will likely be the final arbiter on Attorney General Josh Kaul’s lawsuit against the near-total ban, and the April 4th election could flip the Wisconsin Supreme Court from its current 4-3 conservative majority to one that values reproductive freedom.
“Wisconsin’s archaic abortion ban is actively putting women’s health and lives at risk by tying doctors’ hands,” said Dr. Christopher Ford, a Milwaukee emergency medicine physician, intervenor in Attorney General Kaul’s lawsuit, and member of CTP. “Women shouldn’t be forced to remain pregnant, and they shouldn’t have to be at death’s door before doctors are able to intervene to protect their health. Medical professionals and our patients want our leaders to value patient health and bodily autonomy, and let doctors do our jobs to save lives.”
The upcoming Wisconsin Supreme court election marks the first major statewide election in the country since the results of the 2022 midterms, where abortion was a significant vote-driver across the country.
