MADISON, Wis. — Today, a new report came out highlighting Maria Lazar’s extreme stance on abortion, revealing that she would support a federal heartbeat law—which would ban abortion at roughly six weeks. The report also notes that Lazar praised the overturning of Roe v. Wade, saying the landmark legislation “didn’t work,” and refused to say if she believed in exceptions for rape, incest, or if the mothers life is at risk.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Maria Lazar Says She Sees Possible Support For Fetal Heartbeat Law
By: Mary Spicuzza | 1/12/26
State Appeals Court Judge Maria Lazar, the conservative candidate for Wisconsin Supreme Court, said she thinks Wisconsinites might back a state law banning abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected, according to a recording from a college Republican event obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
So-called fetal heartbeat laws, which ban abortions after about six weeks from conception, are some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country.
Lazar’s comments were part of a lengthy answer about how she would address the issue of abortion following a question about the topic during a UW-Whitewater College Republicans event in November.
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Lazar also said Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision that established a constitutional right to abortion nationwide, “didn’t work,” and praised the 2022 Dobbs decision that overturned Roe, effectively sending the authority to regulate or ban abortion back to each state.
Noting that current Wisconsin law bans abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, Lazar said she wouldn’t attempt to change the law as a Wisconsin Supreme Court justice. She instead said Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and the Legislature should compromise and resolve the issue.
“Just make a decision, and make a fair, good decision,” Lazar said. “If they’re going to say heartbeat, I think maybe people can live with that.”
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Cardiac activity is typically detected in a fetus about six weeks after conception, often before many realize they are pregnant. Fetal heartbeat laws have faced legal challenges in states that have passed them, and recent studies have found increasing numbers of infants dying after states enact abortion bans. A 2021 Marquette poll found only 30% of people nationwide said they supported six-week abortion bans.
Many of Lazar’s comments during her six-minute-long response in Whitewater echoed the reproductive rights statement on her campaign website. In it, she promised not to legislate from the bench, said she would provide clarity and vowed to lower the temperature.
But they also highlighted the stark differences between Lazar and her opponent in the race, liberal state Appeals Court Judge Chris Taylor. Lazar and Taylor are running an open race for a seat on the court that’s controlled 4-3 by liberals.
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Lazar also said that the 1973 Roe ruling “didn’t work” and constantly faced legal challenges. And she echoed previous comments commending Dobbs for sending abortion back to the states, and acknowledged Wisconsin’s 20-week abortion ban.
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Lazar acknowledged that abortions often involve complicated and challenging circumstances.
“People tell me all the time, ‘Yes, the 12-year-old, the 13-year-old who was raped, and now has that issue of does she have a child or not. There are always horrible exceptions. The woman’s going to die, or not,” Lazar said. “I don’t know. It’s a really hard question for me.”
She added, “But the easy thing for me, is that, I don’t make those decisions. I make my personal decisions. When I’m on the bench, I look at the law.”
More than 80% of Wisconsinites polled in 2022 said they supported allowing abortions in cases of rape and incest, said Charles Franklin, director of the Marquette University Law School poll.
Ashley Franz, Taylor’s campaign manager, criticized Lazar’s comments about abortion ban exceptions and noted that she had called repealing Roe v. Wade “very wise.”
“Now, she doesn’t even know if there should be exceptions when a mother’s life is in danger. Voters have rejected these extreme positions before and they will again in April,” Franz said.
