Could Wisconsin's April 4 Supreme Court election eventually determine whether abortion is legal in Wisconsin?
Voters in the April 4, 2023 Wisconsin election will fill a vacancy on the state Supreme Court.
If the winner is former Justice Daniel Kelly, who is endorsed by anti-abortion groups, the court would retain a 4-3 conservative majority.
If the winner is Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Janet Protasiewicz, who has campaigned as an abortion rights supporter, the court will be a 4-3 liberal majority.
The Supreme Court is expected in 2023 or 2024 to hear a lawsuit that seeks to overturn the state’s abortion law, which is from 1849. The law bans abortion except to save the mother’s life.
A conservative majority could uphold Wisconsin’s law, while a liberal majority could overturn the law.
Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that established a national right to an abortion, made Wisconsin’s prohibition unenforceable. But on June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson decision overturned Roe.
