Abortion rights enjoy a double-digit victory in contentious Wisconsin Supreme Court race

05 April 2023

Supporters of reproductive rights enjoyed a major victory in Wisconsin when, on Tuesday, April 4, liberal Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Janet Protasiewicz was elected to the state's supreme court and defeated far-right MAGA Republican Dan Kelly by double digits.

Protasiewicz campaigned aggressively on the abortion issue, stressing that Kelly was vehemently anti-abortion and would, if elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, help enforce a pre-Civil War abortion ban that goes back to 1849. Slamming Kelly as an "extremist," Protasiewicz also attacked him as a supporter of MAGA efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in her state. President Joe Biden won Wisconsin, but Kelly, Protasiewicz warned, was sympathetic to MAGA Republicans who wanted to give the state's electoral votes to former President Donald Trump despite his loss.

Protasiewicz not only attacked Kelly as anti-abortion, but also, as anti-democracy. And her messaging worked. Protasiewicz, according to the New York Times, defeated Kelly by 11 percent.

Protasiewicz's victory is a game-changer for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, where the right will no longer have a majority.

CNN's Eric Bradner, in an article published on April 5, reports, "The race was a critical gauge of whether and how the issue of abortion is motivating voters nearly a year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The state's high court is poised to settle a legal battle in the coming months over Wisconsin's 1849 law that bans abortion in nearly all circumstances. Conservatives currently hold a 4-3 majority on the (Wisconsin Supreme) Court. But the retirement of conservative Justice Patience Roggensack put that majority at stake."

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