MADISON, Wis.—After voting earlier this week to help wealthy people and big corporations cheat on their taxes, Wisconsin Representatives Derrick Van Orden and Bryan Steil are moving on to their next order of business: extreme anti-abortion measures. This comes as even their fellow Republican colleague, Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, said these bills are “tone-deaf at this point.” The recently-published MAGA Guidebook noted that Rep. Van Orden supports banning abortion even in cases of rape or incest, and said that “life begins at conception” and the number of abortions in the U.S. amounts to “genocide.” One of the bills under consideration would open the door to civil lawsuits against and prison sentences of up to five years for physicians and strip away the freedom of families to make their own medical decisions.
Meghan Roh, Opportunity Wisconsin Program Director:
“Despite promising folks in the Badger State that they were committed to addressing rising costs on behalf of Wisconsin workers and families, Representatives Van Orden and Steil are instead prioritizing an extreme and out-of-touch agenda. Wisconsin residents overwhelmingly support access to abortion care and yet Van Orden and Steil are choosing to ignore the voices of those they represent. We’re calling on Representatives Van Orden and Steil to stand up for Wisconsin workers and families and stop these extreme attacks on our freedoms.”
