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wisconsin supreme court
Wisconsin Supreme Court Strikes Down 'Archaic' 1849 Abortion Ban
While welcoming the "monumental win," the ACLU of Wisconsin's leader also stressed it's no time to back off the fight. "The political attacks on reproductive justice will not slow down, and we must remain vigilant."
Jul 02, 2025
Rights advocates celebrated Wednesday after the Wisconsin Supreme Court's liberal majority struck down the state's abortion ban from 1849, but campaigners also emphasized that threats to specific healthcare providers and reproductive freedom in general persist.
After the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision nixed nationwide abortion rights, the Badger State's anti-choice movement argued that the old ban, § 940.04(1), was back in effect. However, the Wisconsin top court concluded 4-3 that it is not, pointing to the state Legislature's actions between Dobbs and Roe v. Wade in 1973.
"We conclude that comprehensive legislation enacted over the last 50 years regulating in detail the 'who, what, where, when, and, how' of abortion so thoroughly covers the entire subject of abortion that it was meant as a substitute for the 19th century near-total ban on abortion," Justice Rebecca Frank Dallet wrote for the majority. "Accordingly, we hold that the legislature impliedly repealed § 940.04(1) as to abortion, and that § 940.04(1) therefore does not ban abortion in the state of Wisconsin."
"With this new ruling from our state's highest court, it's time for Wisconsin Republicans to stop forcing their way into our exam rooms."
Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin initially stopped providing abortions due to uncertainty over the old ban but resumed care a few months after Dane County Judge Diane Schlipper ruled in July 2023 that "there is no such thing as an '1849 abortion ban' in Wisconsin." Joel Urmanski, Sheboygan County's Republican district attorney, asked Schlipper to reconsider her decision, but she reaffirmed it that December. Urmanski then turned to the state's top court, resulting in Wednesday's ruling.
"Today's ruling is another important step forward in protecting and expanding access to abortion in Wisconsin," Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin said on social media. "Since the overturning of Roe, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin has maintained that Wis. Stat. 940.04 could not be enforced against abortion providers. This final ruling again confirms this."
"While we celebrate this ruling, there is more to be done. We will continue essential work to help protect and expand reproductive freedom in Wisconsin so that everyone who needs comprehensive reproductive healthcare in our state can get the nonjudgmental and compassionate care they deserve," the group added, thanking Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul "for their leadership and efforts to protect reproductive freedom in Wisconsin."
BREAKING: We won! In a lawsuit we brought more than three years ago now, the Wisconsin Supreme Court just ruled to protect reproductive freedom in our state and preserve Wisconsinites' access to abortion care.My statement below ⬇️
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— Governor Tony Evers (@govevers.wisconsin.gov) July 2, 2025 at 10:02 AM
Melinda Brennan, executive director of the ACLU of Wisconsin, had a similar reaction to the new decision, saying in a Wednesday statement that "we have been waiting for this moment since the United States Supreme Court overturned our constitutional right and generational expectation to abortion."
"Since then," she said, "pregnant people in Wisconsin have dealt with the catastrophic consequences of having their bodily autonomy stripped from them—including forced pregnancy, denial of critical medical care for pregnancy-related complications like miscarriage, and having to leave home just to get the treatment they need and deserve. Even though that right was restored by lower courts, the fact that the Wisconsin Supreme Court has now rendered the criminal abortion ban unenforceable means Wisconsinites no longer have to fear the archaic 1849 ban could go back into effect."
"With the ban struck down, Wisconsin is a more free and more just place to live," she added. "But that doesn't mean it's time to back down. The political attacks on reproductive justice will not slow down, and we must remain vigilant to make sure everyone who can get pregnant has access to the full range of reproductive healthcare, no matter where in the state they live. Politicians will keep trying to legislate away and restrict our reproductive rights, as well as roll back LGBTQ rights, freedom of expression, and more. While we should celebrate this monumental win, we can't let up."
Great news! The Wisconsin Supreme Court finally struck down an 1849 law that stripped women's rights through a near-total abortion ban. This move protects women's access to medical care and their right to control what happens to their own bodies.
— Rep. Mark Pocan (@pocan.house.gov) July 2, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Lucy Ripp of A Better Wisconsin Together, a progressive research and communications hub affiliated with ProgressNow, responded to the ruling by urging elected Republicans in the state to stop attacking reproductive freedom.
"The Wisconsin Supreme Court's ruling in this case is a historic step forward in protecting and expanding abortion rights in Wisconsin," said Ripp. "We applaud the progressive majority on the court for taking this case and ruling to protect Wisconsinites' right to access abortion care."
"In the face of relentless attacks from Republicans, the vast majority of Wisconsinites have said time and time again that decisions on abortion should be made between a patient and their doctor, not politicians," she declared. "With this new ruling from our state's highest court, it's time for Wisconsin Republicans to stop forcing their way into our exam rooms and finally put an end to their repeated attacks on our access to reproductive healthcare."
The swing state's highest court has attracted national attention in recent years, including with an April election to replace retiring Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, who joined Wednesday's majority opinion. This spring, Susan Crawford defeated far-right Brad Schimel, securing liberals' majority until 2028. Crawford is set to be sworn in at the beginning of August.
Because the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s decision is rooted in state law, SCOTUS cannot reverse it. Reproductive freedom has been restored in Wisconsin … but only for as long as its citizens continue to elect liberal state Supreme Court justices.
— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjsdc.bsky.social) July 2, 2025 at 9:56 AM
While the Wisconsin Supreme Court just affirmed the right to abortion in the state, access to such care remains at risk, in part due to recent action at the federal level. This week, Republicans in Congress are working to pass President Donald Trump's so-called Big Beautiful Bill, which critics call the "Big Ugly Bill" because of provisions including one to "defund" Planned Parenthood by blocking Medicaid payments to abortion providers.
After the U.S. Senate sent the megabill back to the House of Representatives on Tuesday, Planned Parenthood Action Fund president and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson blasted it as "a backdoor abortion ban," warning that "this bill threatens to close nearly 200 Planned Parenthood health centers and will create devastating gaps in our healthcare infrastructure by putting the full range of reproductive care, like birth control, cancer screenings, and STI testing and treatments out of reach for many."
In Wisconsin specifically, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Monday, "it would mean more than half of Planned Parenthood's revenue would vanish. Health centers would close and staff would be laid off, senior leaders have said. And the nearly 1 in 5 Wisconsin residents who are enrolled in Medicaid would no longer be able to receive care at Planned Parenthood."
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Elon Musk’s Death Drive
Is it possible that by promising to end “death by bureaucracy,” he has willfully sowed the seeds of his own political demise?
Apr 13, 2025
On Saturday, April 5 hundreds of thousands gathered across the United States rallying under the banner of “hands off.” The protest was against the devastation wielded by the Trump government on public services, consumer protections, public healthcare, and trade freedom. The protesters’ ire turned especially to Elon Musk’s work with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) radically downsizing U.S. government spending. “Hey! Hey! Ho! Ho! Elon Musk has to go!” They chanted
The scenes of public dissent were in sharp contrast to the image of Musk, just a few months ago, taking the stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington raising a chainsaw high in the air with boyish glee. “This is the chainsaw for bureaucracy,” he extolled, referring to his aggressively ruthless ambition to ax $2 trillion from the U.S. federal budget.
The April protests are a sign that Musk’s fresh-faced jubilance and billionaire-funded political luck might be running out at the hands of his own destructive impulses. As Musk wantonly fights against what he calls “civilizational suicidal empathy,” is it possible that by promising to end “death by bureaucracy,” he has willfully sowed the seeds of his own political demise?
He represents a very particular marriage of politics and capitalism that has no respect for the law, believing that the masters of industry should also be the masters of the world, unencumbered by stuffy bureaucrats trying to stymie their pursuit of greatness.
Musk portrays himself as the billionaire version of the classic vigilante: the man (almost always) who takes the law into his own hands in search of a self-styled brand of justice and effectiveness. A significant part of Musk’s cultural cache is that he exploits the vigilante myth, portraying himself as the savior of an America dream destroyed by corrupt and inefficient democratic institutions.
President Donald Trump described Musk’s vigilante appeal well: “Elon is doing a great job, but I would like to see him get more aggressive. Remember, we have a country to save.” Destruction, redemption, and emancipation driven by masculine emotion is at the heart of Musk’s DOGE endeavor.
Vigilantes achieve their ambitions through self-justified law breaking, reflected in Musk’s DOGE being condemned as illegal. With unwavering confidence in their own convictions, vigilantes feel justified in using whatever powers they have to ensure what they think is right is enforced—and in Musk’s case that is a lot of power.
Unlike the vigilantes we see on television or in the movies, Musk is not a violent avenger seeking justice through the barrel of a gun (or even at the end of chain saw). His weapons are not firearms but money and power. He is portrayed as “the DOGEfather” in vigilante reference to Don Corleone, the eponymous anti-hero of 1972 gangster film The Godfather.
Musk acts out billionaire vigilantism par excellence. He represents a very particular marriage of politics and capitalism that has no respect for the law, believing that the masters of industry should also be the masters of the world, unencumbered by stuffy bureaucrats trying to stymie their pursuit of greatness.
The aggression of Musk’s ambition to slash government and upturn the institutions of democracy appears to be turning against up him. His popularity is nosediving as his unpredictable and conflict-ridden behavior escalates. Musk may have taken the stereotype of the vigilante to such extremes that he is exercising a death wish not just on his own political career but on very idea of the heroic billionaire savior.
The tides are certainly changing. Musk may have used his wealth to influence the presidential election last year, but this month his $25 million spend could not secure Trump’s preferred candidate Brad Schimel in the campaign for as seat in Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Tesla’s sales around the world have plummeted, with people seemingly embarrassed at the prospect of being seen to be associated with Musk. Many are putting bumper stickers on their cars with slogans such as “I Bought This Before We Knew Elon Was Crazy.” In Britain social media campaigners Everyone Hates Elon orchestrated a public art project where people took sledgehammers to a donated Tesla Model S. Their purpose was “to create a debate about wealth inequality.”
Employees are not far behind. Musk practically begged them not to sell Tesla stock holdings. Meanwhile investors are calling for Musk to resign as CEO of Tesla as he gets more and more embroiled in political controversy and Tesla’s market value stumbles. In the the not too recent past conservatives rallied behind the slogan “go woke, go broke.” This is rapidly turning around to “go MAGA, go broke.”
Musk’s outlandish death drive might end up killing the vigilante myth he trades on rather than killing American democracy. Time will tell, but for now there are plenty of reasons to hope that it will.
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1,000+ 'Hands Off!' Protests Planned Across US Saturday in Mass Mobilization Against Trump
"Immigration. Medicaid. Workers' rights. Unions. Education. You name it—we're drawing the line," wrote one union.
Apr 04, 2025
In what one outlet has reported is slated to be the largest single-day action to resist the Trump administration since U.S. President Donald Trump's return to power, hundreds of thousands of people nationwide are planning to mobilize on Saturday to say: "Hands Off!"
A list of locations for the events, which are not all slated to start at the same time on Saturday, can be found here.
Trump and Musk "think this country belongs to them," according to a website for the Hands Off! events. "This is a nationwide mobilization to stop the most brazen power grab in modern history."
"They want to strip America for parts—shuttering Social Security offices, firing essential workers, eliminating consumer protections, and gutting Medicaid—all to bankroll their billionaire tax scam. They're handing over our tax dollars, our public services, and our democracy to the ultra-rich," according to the website's about page, which also notes nonviolent action is a "core principle" behind the events.
A spokesperson for the events told Common Dreams on Friday afternoon that the events have generated over 500,000 signups nationally, a number that is "growing rapidly," and there are over 1,000 events taking place on Saturday, a number that is "also growing steadily."
The actions are the latest warning sign for the Republican Party under Trump, who has allowed Elon Musk to play a core role in his administration, particularly in the administration's efforts to carry out cuts to federal personnel and spending.
Musk poured millions of dollars into a high-profile Wisconsin Supreme Court election that took place on April 1—helping to make it the most expensive judicial election in U.S. history by one tally—only to have his preferred candidate, judge Brad Schimel, lose.
"This is a huge signal from a battleground state that Americans are genuinely upset, genuinely angry, I think, with Trump and with Musk," said John Nichols, a correspondent for The Nation, when recapping the outcome of the race on Democracy Now!
Dozens of unions, watchdogs, and advocacy groups—such as Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Americans for Tax Fairness, and Accountable.US—are supporting the action as partners.
"People nationwide are rising up at hundreds of events to say one thing loud and clear: Hands Off!" wrote SEIU on the platform X, which is owned by Musk, on Friday. "Immigration. Medicaid. Workers' rights. Unions. Education. You name it—we're drawing the line."
Journalist and veteran climate organizer Bill McKibben wrote on Bluesky: "Expect to see a lot of gray hair at the April 5 Hands Off rallies—we've been organizing like crazy at Third Act," a group he co-founded that mobilizes Americans over the age of 60.
In early February, anti-Trump "Movement 50501" protests took place nationwide and protestors united under the slogan #TakedownTesla have also targeted Tesla, Musk's electric vehicle company, in recent weeks.
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