Protect All Preborn Babies — Don’t Weaken Wisconsin’s 1849 Abortion Law

Members of the Wisconsin Legislature are seeking to weaken the state’s 1849 law banning abortion by adding multiple exceptions. It is imperative that state legislators reject this scheme and instead stand uncompromisingly for all preborn human life — without exceptions!

On March 15, 2023, multiple Republican legislators in the Assembly and Senate announced legislation to weaken Wisconsin’s 1849 law protecting the lives of preborn babies by adding exceptions for rape, incest, life and health of the mother, and life-threatening fetal anomaly. State Senator Mary Felzkowski (R-Irma) and state Representative Donna Rozar (R-Marshfield) have circulated the proposed legislation for co-sponsorship. This change to the 1849 law would discriminate the lives of which preborn babies are protected under the law.

Of the proposed expansion of abortion, Pro-Life Wisconsin Legislative Director Matt Sande said, “A vote to add more exceptions to Wisconsin’s abortion ban is a vote to kill more preborn babies. It is that simple.”

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, who is spearheading the push to weaken Wisconsin’s abortion laws, had previously stated that he supports adding exceptions that allow abortion — he has even stated that Wisconsin would be “better off” with exceptions for rape and incest.

Although Vos framed the bill as a means to ensure the Legislature (rather than the Supreme Court) remains in control over Wisconsin’s abortion policy, this is already the case with the 1849 law — legislators must reject this and other excuses to water down Wisconsin’s current indiscriminate protections for all preborn babies.

Any exceptions to protecting the lives of preborn children, such as for rape and incest, are completely unacceptable since all humans — regardless of the circumstances in which they were conceived — are made in the image of God, and their lives must be fully protected. Furthermore, in the Ten Commandments given by God to Moses, the LORD explicitly said, “Thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 20:13). And in Jeremiah 1:5, the LORD said to Jeremiah, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” In this verse, we see God acknowledging personhood prior to birth.

Instead of enacting pro-abortion legislation, the Legislature must stand uncompromisingly for life and reject any compromises that water down Wisconsin’s abortion laws. Urge your state representative and senator to do just that and reject every pro-abortion compromise.