Skip to content

Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2022

Does Wisconsin have the oldest abortion ban in the nation?


yes

Wisconsin's 1849 ban on abortion is the oldest in the nation that could go into effect post-Roe, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive health advocacy and research organization.

While it is not clear if the ban is in effect currently — Gov. Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul are challenging that in court — clinics have stopped providing abortions amid the legal uncertainty. 

The law makes it a felony for anyone besides the mother to “intentionally (destroy) the life of an unborn child.” The law has an exception for "therapeutic abortions" to “save the life of the mother,” but the meaning of that antiquated term is unclear.

Several other states also have bans from the 1800s that were left on the books following the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, including Arizona, Arkansas, Michigan, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas and West Virginia.  

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.