Madison — Today, NARAL Pro-Choice America announced its endorsement of Judge Janet Protasiewicz to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Protasiewicz is an eminently qualified judge who has been a vocal supporter of abortion access and the freedom to decide. She is running against former Justice Daniel Kelly, a Federalist Society justice endorsed by numerous anti-choice extremist groups, who has written extensively about his opposition to reproductive freedom.
NARAL Pro-Choice America President Mini Timmaraju released the following statement in response:
“Across the country, we are seeing unprecedented judicial attacks on reproductive freedom, largely orchestrated by anti-choice extremist judges given power by politicians who want to attack our rights, freedoms, and even our democracy. Wisconsin voters have a powerful opportunity to fight back and vote for a champion for reproductive freedom: Judge Janet Protasiewicz. NARAL Pro-Choice America and our 84,000 members in Wisconsin will be turning out in force in support of Judge Protasiewicz. Her opponent is a Federalist Society, Trump darling who will only further the dangerous direction our judiciary is going in.”
Wisconsin has a total ban on abortion on the books, enacted in 1849—more than a century before Roe v. Wade. While Governor Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul, reproductive freedom champions, have declined to enforce this ban, legal uncertainty around this law has led providers in the state to stop providing abortion care. With the makeup of the court currently holding an anti-choice majority, the stakes for reproductive freedom and abortion access couldn’t be higher in this election.
Judge Protasiewicz’s candidacy comes at a pivotal moment in the fight for reproductive freedom. Despite mifepristone’s proven safety and effectiveness, a Trump-appointed judge will be ruling in an unfounded federal lawsuit seeking to revoke the FDA’s approval of the medication, typically used in medication abortion. This could lead to a nationwide backdoor ban on mifepristone—including in Wisconsin. In order to protect and advance our fundamental rights, we need justices who understand the intent and impact of the laws and cases they are deciding and will ensure equal justice for all.
