State Assembly Passes Bill Banning Abortions After 14 Weeks

Friday, January 26th, 2024 -- 12:00 PM

(Jessie Opoien, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) Assembly Republicans voted Thursday to pass a bill asking voters whether Wisconsin should ban abortions after 14 weeks of pregnancy, despite a certain veto from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.

According to Jessie Opoien with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, with voters’ approval, the legislation would ban abortions 14 weeks after "probable fertilization" except in situations where the mother's life or health would be endangered without the procedure, a measure that would reduce the timeframe for legal abortions in Wisconsin by six weeks.

It passed the Assembly with a 53-46 vote after 2 1/2 hours of debate, sending the measure to the Republican-led Senate. It did not initially include exceptions for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest, but the bill's authors amended it this week to add those exemptions following public criticism.

Amendments to the bill also require doctors to "make reasonable efforts" to preserve the life of the fetus during medical emergencies. A spokeswoman for Evers has said he won't sign the proposal, which needs his support to head to voters on the April election ballot when voters could be turning out in higher numbers due to the Republican presidential primary.

Evers has said he does not support reducing access to abortion in Wisconsin, which is currently banned after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.