Baldwin Statement on Wisconsin Supreme Court Striking Down 1849 Abortion Ban

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) released the following statement on the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling that strikes down the 1849 state law that had banned abortions in nearly every situation that went into effect after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade:

“Three years ago, the activist U.S. Supreme Court stripped millions of Americans of their constitutional right to make their own health care decisions, sending Wisconsin women to live under an 1849 criminal abortion ban. This archaic criminal abortion ban was passed before the Civil War, decades before women had the right to vote, and just a year after Wisconsin became a state,” said Senator Baldwin. “Today’s ruling tells women across Wisconsin that we will not go back. Today’s ruling tells women that our government trusts you to make decisions about your own body and your future. Today’s ruling tells women in our state that they are not second-class citizens. But, this fight is not over. Every woman, in every zip code, in every state deserves the same rights and freedoms. I will not stop fighting until we make that a reality and pass my bill to restore the right to abortion nationwide and allow women to make their own health care decisions without interference from judges or politicians.”

Senator Baldwin has long led the charge to restore abortion access nationwide, including leading the entire Senate Democratic caucus in introducing the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2025, legislation to guarantee access to abortion everywhere across the country and restore the right to comprehensive reproductive health care for millions of Americans. Last week, Senator Baldwin spoke on the Senate floor, underscoring the impact of the Dobbs decision in Wisconsin, which forced women to travel out of state just to access health care. Additionally, Senator Baldwin has introduced the Right to Contraception Act, a bill at the federal level to put into law Americans’ right to contraception, which the Supreme Court first recognized more than half a century ago in its Griswold v. Connecticut decision, and the Reproductive Health Travel Fund Act, legislation to provide women the support they need to access reproductive health services by providing grants to organizations, including abortion funds, to offset the cost of travel-related expenses.

A video of Senator Baldwin’s floor speech from the anniversary of Roe v. Wade is available for download here.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.