MADISON, Wis. —Yesterday, new audio was released confirming previous reporting from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel exposing Maria Lazar’s extreme support for a fetal heartbeat bill that would effectively ban abortion after six weeks – before most women know they’re pregnant.
To make matters worse, Lazar indicated she could support abortion restrictions without exceptions for rape, incest, or the life of a mother. Lazar is also on the record calling the repeal of Roe v. Wade “very wise” and said she would have kept the 1849 ban on the books had she been on the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany and many Republicans in the state legislature previously backed a six week ban, the state’s pre-Civil War 1849 abortion ban or other extreme restrictions . By 2028, it is possible that Republicans have control of the state Supreme Court, the legislature, and the governorship, and they would use their collective power to implement dangerous and un-American abortion restrictions.
Some WI GOP legislators who support extreme anti-abortion policies:
Heartland Signal: Conservative Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Maria Lazar endorses fetal heartbeat bill
Conservative Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Maria Lazar has far-right views on reproductive rights, including the belief that a six-week heartbeat abortion ban would be “middle” ground.
The Court of Appeals judge discussed the issue at length while speaking to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater College Republicans last November, according to a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report from Monday and audio provided to Heartland Signal. During the forum, Lazar said she wants the issue to be decided by the Wisconsin State Legislature and the governor, and that she believes most people would support a heartbeat law.
“If they’re going to say heartbeat, I think maybe people can live with that,” Lazar said. “You’re always going to get the people on one side who say, no, it has to be at conception, and you get the other people on the other side who say, up to the date of birth. And I think most of the people in Wisconsin are in the middle.”
Heartbeat bills only allow abortion procedures until the point a heartbeat can be detected in the fetus, which typically occurs six weeks after conception. Many women are not even aware they are pregnant at this point, making heartbeat bills a near total abortion ban. The concept of a “fetal heartbeat” is also contested by medical experts.
During the forum, Lazar also iterated her support for the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson U.S. Supreme Court decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade and allowed for states to greatly restrict access to reproductive care. She also expressed uncertainty over supporting rape and incest exceptions for abortion legislation.
According to the Journal Sentinel report, Lazar anticipated her views to be viewed as extreme but said it wouldn’t matter because voters do not care about reproductive rights anymore.
“They’re going to say that all my views are so extreme, and they’re going to take every woman’s abortion right away,” Lazar said. “We’re going to be very quick out of the box to say abortion is not an issue anymore. I’ve shared what my view is. Because I think every other candidate for Supreme Court has basically run away from the question, and that’s not what people want to hear.”
Lazar, currently serving as a judge in the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, is attempting to fill the state Supreme Court seat currently held by conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley, who is not running for reelection. Chris Taylor, a liberal judge also serving in Wisconsin’s Court of Appeals, is also running in the race.
The general election will be held on April 7 with no primary since Lazar and Taylor are the only candidates who filed to run for Bradley’s seat. The liberals currently hold a 4-3 majority on the court, and that lead could expand to 5-2 if Taylor wins.
