Trump’s Supreme Court pick divides state groups

Trouble or hope down to advocate’s abortion view

MADISON - President Donald Trump’s nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court puts a woman’s health care decisions at risk, abortion rights advocates say.

But a prominent anti-abortion advocate in Wisconsin says it’s too soon to say whether Kavanaugh’s nomination — and ultimate confirmation — spells doom for Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationwide.

Kavanaugh, who has served on the Washington, D.C., Court of Appeals since 2006, once said Roe was “binding precedent.”

Julaine Appling, executive director of Wisconsin Family Action, is pleased with the selection of Kavanaugh but said it’s not worth speculating what decisions he might make.

In a statement, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin Executive Director Nicole Safar said, “With his nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court, President Donald Trump has put a woman’s ability to make her own health care decisions on the line.”

Policy overhaul unknown

Wisconsin has a law on the books that bans abortion, but the measure cannot be enforced because of Roe. Because of that law, groups that oppose abortion believe the practice would automatically be banned in Wisconsin if Roe were overturned.

“Our goal is a day when abortion is no longer legal as a procedure,” Appling said.

Heather Weininger, executive director of Wisconsin Right to Life, said she’s focused on pushing for legislation that educates and restricts abortions while also shoring up the language of laws already in place.

“What we like to do when we work on legislation is see how we can update legislation, fix the language and perhaps pieces that have been challenged in the past or in other states,” she said without specifying any particular piece of legislation.

When asked if she would pursue stricter abortion legislation in 2019, Appling said: “All options are on the table.”

Groups that support access to abortion similarly say the nomination doesn’t change their goals, noting that under Gov. Scott Walker, the availability of abortions has already been shrinking.

“We’re used to really being on this cliff and doing organizing and advocacy and election work to change the faces of the people making these decisions,” Safar said.

State Rep. Chris Taylor (D-Madison) tweeted Monday that Wisconsin needs a constitutional amendment protecting access to abortion rights. This follows Democratic candidate for governor Kelda Roys saying that if she were elected and Roe were overturned, she would pardon anybody who was criminally charged for performing an abortion.

“Brett Kavanaugh’s history indicates he will be a rubber stamp for Donald Trump’s anti-choice and anti-worker agenda,” said a statement from Roys, a former state representative and former executive director of the Wisconsin arm of the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League.

Roys is one of eight Democrats seeking her party’s nomination to challenge Walker. The primary is Aug. 14.

Appling said she anticipates it’s going to be a long road before Roe is overturned.

“One thing I’ve said for years is, ‘Who can read the mind of Supreme Court justices?’ Nobody,” she said.

However, Safar argued that because of the policies supported and enacted by Walker and Republican lawmakers, access to abortion and birth control is in jeopardy.

“We could see some of these darker scenarios play out,” she said.

She said if Republicans maintain their control of state government after the fall elections, she would not be surprised to see them pass a law similar to one approved in Iowa that makes it illegal to perform most abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected. Most heartbeats are heard six weeks into a pregnancy.

The Iowa law is being challenged in court.

Weininger and Appling did not say whether they would pursue similar legislation in Wisconsin. Walker has said he believes Wisconsin’s current abortion laws are strong enough but he has not ruled out signing a similar law.

State legislators this session failed to pass a bill sponsored by Rep. André Jacque (R-De Pere) that would have banned University of Wisconsin System employees from performing abortions. That measure could be revived next year.

Safar said Planned Parenthood knew how critical this year’s election would be but the stepping down of Justice Anthony Kennedy makes it even more important.

“Defeating Governor Walker absolutely is our top priority,” she said. “The governor really minimizes the impact his policies have had on women in this state.”

Chris Ott, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin, said he believes people will react strongly if there is a threat to access abortion or birth control.

“People have already been rallying against what they see as threats to their rights and liberties and if that threat to reproductive freedom rises, I think that people will rise to meet it,” he said.

Ott said he’s seen people step up like never before, citing the recent rallies against Trump’s policy of separating families at the border. In the months after Trump was elected, membership to the ACLU has more than quadrupled, he said.

Appling, citing a number of Supreme Court decisions that have gone in her group’s favor in the last few weeks, said people on her side are excited.

“Freedom lives to see another day,” she said. “We have some windows of opportunities we didn’t have before and that’s very energizing.”

“Our goal is a day when abortion is no longer legal as a procedure.” Julaine Appling, executive director of Wisconsin Family Action