Wisconsin Supreme Court: 1849 Law Doesn't Ban Abortion

Wisconsin's Supreme Court has ruled that an 1849 law doesn't ban abortion, ending years of uncertainty over the procedure's status in the state. The ruling means abortions can continue, following a period after Roe v. Wade was overturned when providers stopped offering the service out of concern the old law might be enforced.

The legal battle began in 2022, when Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul challenged the 1849 statute. In December 2023, a lower court determined that the law actually targets feticide—criminalizing attacks on a pregnant woman's child without her consent—not abortion. This allowed providers to resume abortions, currently permitted up to 20 weeks, or later if necessary for the mother's health, under a 1980s law, reports NPR.

Wednesday's 4-3 Supreme Court decision, split along party lines, found that more recent laws regulating abortion effectively replaced the 19th-century statute. The majority opinion, which the AP notes came as no surprise, noted that detailed abortion regulations passed over the last 50 years were intended as a substitute for the original near-total ban. In dissent, conservative Justice Annette Ziegler wrote that the majority "picks and chooses" which abortion laws to enforce, calling it overreach.