The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled 4-3 to strike down the state's 176-year-old abortion ban, concluding it was superseded by more recent legislation regulating abortions only after fetal viability. The 1849 law made it a felony to destroy an unborn child's life and was effectively nullified in 1973 by Roe v. Wade. A 1985 law permitting abortions until viability was cited by the Attorney General, while a lower court had previously interpreted the 1849 ban as not applicable to consensual abortions. The Supreme Court's decision provides clarity and assures the legality of abortion in Wisconsin.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that the 1849 abortion ban was superseded by a newer law criminalizing abortions only after a fetus can survive outside the womb.
Dane County Circuit Judge Diane Schlipper's 2023 ruling stated that the 1849 ban outlaws feticide but not consensual abortions, allowing abortions to remain available.
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