Press Release
NARAL Pro-Choice America Celebrates Judge Janet Protasiewicz’s Victory in Wisconsin’s Supreme Court Election
For Immediate Release: Tuesday, April 4, 2023
Contact: [email protected]
Madison, WI — Today, Wisconsin voters elected NARAL-endorsed Judge Janet Protasiewicz to serve on Wisconsin’s Supreme Court. With this decisive victory over anti-choice Republican Daniel Kelly, Judge Protasiewicz’s win marks a major milestone in the fight for freedom in Wisconsin—a state where abortion access hangs in the balance. Heeding the call of state leaders and recognizing the power and necessity of direct, on-the-ground investments, NARAL put its organizing power into action—making its largest-ever investment in a judicial race to date. NARAL deployed four staff members to the state and partnered with Power to the Polls WI, making over 59,000 voter contacts in the lead-up to election night.
NARAL Pro-Choice America President Mini Timmaraju released the following statement in response to Protasiewicz’s victory:
“For over a decade, anti-choice ideologues have held their iron grip on Wisconsin’s highest court, leaving voters hungry for change. Judge Janet’s resounding victory comes as abortion access faces an onslaught of attacks by extremist state courts determined to tear up our rights at every step. This win could make all of the difference. NARAL Pro-Choice America and our 84,000 members in the state are thrilled to congratulate Judge Protasiewicz on her win and look forward to her service as the next Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice.”
Wisconsin has a total ban on abortion on the books, enacted in 1849—more than a century before Roe v. Wade. While Governor Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul, reproductive freedom champions, have declined to enforce this ban, legal uncertainty around this law has led providers in the state to stop providing abortion care. With the court’s current anti-choice majority, Judge Janet’s victory marks a tipping point towards reproductive freedom—a win that may prove vital in ending the state’s draconian ban on abortion once and for all.
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For over 50 years, NARAL Pro-Choice America has fought to protect and advance reproductive freedom at the federal and state levels—including access to abortion care, birth control, pregnancy and post-partum care, and paid family leave—for everybody. NARAL is powered by its 4 million members from every state and congressional district in the country, representing the 8 in 10 Americans who support legal abortion.