GOP leaders seek dismissal of abortion law challenge
Lawyers for Republican legislative leaders on Monday moved to dismiss a lawsuit challenging Wisconsin’s 1849 abortion ban.
They said the suit was wrongly filed against Senate President Chris Kapenga, Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, claiming the leaders have “no enforcement power whatsoever with respect to any of the challenged laws.”
The filing in Dane County Circuit Court also said the plaintiffs, including Attorney General Josh Kaul, “are not private citizens who fear enforcement of the law against them.”
In addition, the filing said the lawsuit depended “on the speculative possibility of enforcement in the future, a hypothetical controversy not ripe for the Court’s resolution.”
Responding to the filing, Kaul tweeted: “With this motion, Republican legislative leaders are fighting against our effort to restore access to safe and legal abortion in Wisconsin. We look forward to responding and moving forward with our challenge to the enforceability of the draconian 19th century abortion ban.”
The suit comes amid tough races for the U.S. Senate and governor where the abortion issue looms large, with Democrats seeking to broaden abortion rights and Republicans seeking to greatly restrict such procedures.
The case will likely end up in front of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which has a 4-3 conservative majority.
When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, the state’s 1849 abortion ban came into play, bringing an immediate halt to abortions across Wisconsin.
Days later, Kaul filed suit to challenge the ban, asking state courts to clarify whether the 173-year-old ban was still in place.
Kaul argued the long-standing ban had been unenforceable since 1973 under Roe v. Wade and was still unenforceable because it conflicted with abortion measures state lawmakers had subsequently passed.
Kaul argued a 1985 law that prohibited abortions after a fetus has grown enough that it could survive outside the womb superseded the 19th-century abortion ban.
Kaul has said he would not enforce the 1849 law while Eric Toney, his Republican opponent in the Nov. 8 election, said that he would.