Democratic Governor of Wisconsin Tony Evers vetoed five pro-life bills on Friday, sharing photos of himself doing so on Twitter.
He was praised by Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin, which tweeted, “Thank you [Governor Evers] for vetoing these bills and protecting access to abortion & birth control!”
Thank you @GovEvers for vetoing these bills and protecting access to abortion & birth control! https://t.co/caqLE4Zjvd
— Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin (@PPAWI) December 3, 2021
The governor tweeted, “BREAKING: I just vetoed five bills that would restrict access to reproductive healthcare in Wisconsin,” adding, “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again today: as long as I’m governor, I will veto any legislation that turns back the clock on reproductive rights in this state—and that’s a promise.”
BREAKING: I just vetoed five bills that would restrict access to reproductive healthcare in Wisconsin. pic.twitter.com/c8VwZOSOFi
— Governor Tony Evers (@GovEvers) December 3, 2021
Evers has reportedly made abortion a main part of his 2022 re-election race, and was already anticipated to veto the legislation.
As locally reported by madison.com, “One bill, which Evers also vetoed in 2019, would impose criminal penalties on doctors who fail to give medical care in the extremely rare circumstance in which a baby is born alive following an abortion attempt. Violators would be guilty of a felony punishable by up to six years in prison.”
“The bill also would make intentionally causing the death of a child born alive as a result of an abortion a felony punishable by life in prison,” the outlet noted.
Proponents of the measure state that the bill would get rid of any legal uncertainty, but some physicians have said it is unnecessary.
The outlet also reported that another bill Evers vetoed “would require doctors to provide the parents of fetuses and embryos that test positive for a congenital condition information about the condition. A third proposal he vetoed would prohibit abortions based on a fetus’ sex, race or national origin. Evers also vetoed that measure in 2019.”
The outlet continued:
A fourth measure Evers vetoed would reduce funding for abortion providers by prohibiting the state from certifying them as a provider under Medicaid. There would be exceptions in cases of sexual assault or incest or if the woman’s life is in danger.
The fifth bill he vetoed would require doctors to tell any woman seeking a medication-induced abortion that she could change her mind after ingesting the first dose and continue the pregnancy.
“Killing an unborn baby because of their sex, race or disability is not health care,” Republican State Senator Julian Bradley said in a statement. “This is a radical, pro-discrimination veto from Governor Evers. Wisconsinites deserve to know life is valued whether they are a man or woman, white or black, or have a disability.”
In a letter to the Senate, Evers explained his vetoing of Senate Bill 593, which is the bill that would have prohibited people from performing abortions if they know a woman is getting one “solely” because of the sex, race, or “potential diagnosis” of a disability of the fetus.
The text of the bill also included potential for damages, stating:
The bill allows a claim for damages for a violation of this bill to be brought by a woman on whom an abortion is performed, induced, or attempted; the father of the aborted unborn child or unborn child that is attempted to be aborted, unless the pregnancy is the result of a sexual assault or incest; and, if the woman is a minor at the time or dies as a result of the abortion or attempted abortion, a parent or guardian of the woman on whom an abortion was performed, induced, or attempted.
Evers told the Senate, “I am vetoing this bill in its entirety because I object to politicians interfering between patients and their healthcare providers.”
The vetoes come after the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments relating to a case out of Mississippi concerning a law that bans abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
There are currently at least 21 states that have pro-life laws or constitutional amendments that would make them highly likely to move to prohibit almost all abortions in their states if Roe is overturned.
The Guttmacher Institute reported:
By the time the Supreme Court hears oral arguments in the Mississippi case, there will be nine states with an abortion ban still on the books from before Roe v. Wade, 12 states with a trigger ban tied to Roe being overturned, five states with a near-total abortion ban enacted after Roe, 11 states with a six-week ban that is not in effect and one state (Texas) with a six-week ban that is in effect, one state with an eight-week ban that is not in effect and four states whose constitutions specifically bar a right to abortion. Some states have multiple types of bans in place.
There are an additional five states that would probably prohibit abortion as soon as they could. According to the Guttmacher Institute, these states include Florida, Indiana, Montana, Nebraska, and Wyoming.