Two state lawmakers introduced legislation Tuesday to repeal a law that criminalizes abortion in Wisconsin, despite the law not currently being enforced.
The bill would repeal the 158-year-old law, statute 940.04, that criminalizes doctors and women who perform or obtain abortions.
The law is not enforced due to the Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade that legalizes abortion, but has the potential to become effective should Roe v. Wade be repealed.
State Rep. Terese Berceau, D-Madison, and Sen. Mark Miller, D-Monona, introduced The Women's Health & Safety Act on the 35th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
Berceau said the timing of the bill's introduction was also planned to coincide with the anti-abortion group Pro-Life Wisconsin's recently promoted bill relating to partial birth abortion.
Barbara Lyons, executive director for the anti-abortion group Wisconsin Right to Life said in a statement that statute 940.04 must remain law.
Wisconsin Right to Life has worked valiantly for over 30 years to keep this law on the books,"" Lyons said, ""Because when the day comes that Roe v. Wade is overturned, Wisconsin will be one of the first states in the nation to shut down all Wisconsin abortion clinics - as long 940.04 remains in the statutes.""
Miller said the statute must be repealed because it is very possible Roe v. Wade could be overturned.
""[Roe v. Wade] has been upheld numerous times, but it's also been chipped away in various ways and so there is concern that may happen,"" Miller said.
Berceu and Miller both said their bill to repeal the statute would be unlikely to pass the Republican-controlled state Assembly.
Berceau said she expects the bill would pass the Assembly if Democrats gain control in the November 2008 elections.
""On this issue, the Republicans have got to know that recent polls show they are out of step with the way most people in Wisconsin think,"" Berceau said. ""[Wisconsinites] want abortion to be rare, but legal and safe.
