Skip to content

Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022

Did Assembly Speaker Robin Vos say Republicans are considering changes to the 1849 abortion law in Wisconsin?


yes

Rep. Robin Vos, the Republican leader of the Wisconsin Assembly, expressed interest in working with fellow Republicans to "make some potential changes to the 1849 law" in the the 2023 legislative session. The statement was made during a Nov. 10, 2022 radio interview.

Vos said he would consider a new law that could be passed through the traditional legislative process with the cooperation of Gov. Tony Evers, who has vetoed more than 120 GOP bills since taking office. 

The Assembly speaker has proposed exceptions for rape and incest under the 1849 law, differentiating him from other Republicans who support upholding the current law, which has no such exceptions. But the Journal Sentinel reports Vos has said he would be willing to require the victim to file a police report to qualify for the exception.

See a full discussion of this at Wisconsin Watch

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

About fact briefs

Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by Gigafact contributor publications.

See all fact briefs

Wisconsin Watch, the news arm of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, increases the quality and quantity of investigative reporting in Wisconsin, while training current and future investigative journalists. Its work fosters an informed citizenry and strengthens democracy.

Learn More

Be a Friend of facts

Help us fund more great fact briefs like this one.