A Wisconsin circuit court judge has ruled that an 1849 law that classifies the destruction of a fetus by someone other than the mother as a felony does not outlaw abortions, returning the state’s abortion access to its pre-Dobbs status.
Dane County Circuit Court Judge Diane Schlipper on Tuesday reaffirmed a ruling she issued earlier this year, finding that an 1800s-era law “does not apply to consensual abortions, but to feticide.”
After the Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling in 2022, the question was raised over whether a Wisconsin state law passed in 1849 could go into effect. Roe had effectively invalidated the law when it was in effect.
The hooligans controlling the US House of Representatives are the perfect example of why you wouldn’t want that.
“The legislation forbidding companies from dumping toxic waste in rivers is not going to be renewed unless we also pass a ban on all Muslim immigration to the US!”
“We’re not going to renew animal abuse laws unless we also donate $100 million of our budget to each of the Fortune 500 companies!”
“We’re not going to renew Hours of Service regulations and the 40 hour work week unless we outlaw gay marriage!”
And real examples you see all the time. The Republicans on several occassions have used “then we’re not going to pay our bills” as a bargaining chip (debt ceiling crises).