Crowley Proposes State Constitutional Amendment to Protect Abortion

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley and Sen. Tammy Baldwin at campaign event on Oct. 7, 2026. Photo by Graham Kilmer.

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley announced his support Tuesday for a constitutional amendment enshrining the right to reproductive health care and abortion in Wisconsin.

Crowley made the announcement at a campaign event at Turner Hall Tuesday with Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski, who is running for lieutenant governor, and U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin. The event in Milwaukee was also an opportunity for Crowley and his Democratic allies to attack his opponent, U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, over his support for anti-abortion legislation and the deluge of campaign cash coming to the Tiffany campaign from a small cadre of right-wing billionaires, two issues the Democrats said are connected.

The county executive is specifically proposing a constitutional amendment to guarantee women access to contraception and abortion and to leave any relevant medical decisions up to a woman and her health care provider.

“Because right now, that freedom is on the ballot, y’all,” Crowley said. “Because here’s what’s happening in this race, we have MAGA billionaires who are spending tens of millions of dollars to buy this election for Congressman Tom Tiffany… MAGA extremist Congressman Tom Tiffany is an anti-abortion extremist who backed their plan to ban abortion nationwide at zero weeks with no exceptions for rape, incest, or the life of the mother.”

Since launching his campaign for governor, Tiffany has said he would support and uphold a state law passed during his time in the state Legislature that establishes a ban on abortions after five months. As a member of Congress, Tiffany voted against the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would establish a nationwide right for women to access abortion and for health care workers to provide it. He has also voted against the Right to Contraception Act, which would have provided legal protection for access to contraception.

In 2022, after the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs overturned longstanding federal protection for abortion access, an 1849 state law banning abortion in Wisconsin went into effect. Abortion was then illegal in Wisconsin until 2025, when the state Supreme Court ruled the law was invalid and could not be enforced.

Baldwin was a lead sponsor of the Women’s Health Protection Act in the U.S. Senate. She has also run against Republican challengers backed by the same billionaires providing the majority of funding for the Tiffany campaign: Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein and Diane Hendricks.

“Now, why would these billionaires try and buy a governor’s race? They know what they’re buying,” Baldwin said. “These billionaires have spent years bankrolling the push for a national abortion ban, and when it comes to reproductive freedom, we know exactly what they want out of Wisconsin’s next governor.”

Crowley and Godlewski have lately been campaigning together. Godlewski hammered Tiffany for the outsized campaign funding from billionaire donors and her opponent in the lieutenant governor’s race, Republican David Varnam, for his position on abortion. Varnam has previously said he does not support exceptions for abortion.

“Varnam is so extreme that he believes that there should be no exceptions, not even for rape, incest, or the life of the mother,” Godlewski said.

To pass a constitutional amendment, Crowley would need a majority of the state Legislature to pass identical language during two consecutive sessions, then a ballot referendum would need to be approved by a majority of voters. In a statement, Crowley’s campaign said, “Constitutional protection would provide a stronger safeguard against future efforts to take those rights away.”

The campaign outlined the goals of the proposed amendment, including “establishing a fundamental right” to abortion and contraception, protecting individuals from penalties for seeking or facilitating an abortion, and preempting any laws that would take the authority for medical decisions related to reproductive health away from health care professionals.

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