MADISON, WI (WLUK) — Groups on both sides of Wisconsin’s abortion debate are planning how best to support their endorsed candidates in this year’s midterm elections.
Planned Parenthood is investing $50 million across eight states in support of their endorsed candidates.
“Primarily, we hope that, of course, it gets pro-choice candidates elected, but we also want to make sure that we’re educating our constituents, our voters, our supporters on which candidates definitely have their best interest at heart,” said Victoria Vega of Planned Parenthood.
Vega said it will be put towards TV and radio ads as well as social media.
“While candidates like Tim Michels are playing political games in our gubernatorial election, we do have Gov. Tony Evers really trying to do the work to restore abortion access for Wisconsin,” she said. “So, there’s a lot riding on this election.”
Wisconsin Right to Life is also preparing to support candidates such as Michels and Sen. Ron Johnson. Legislative Director Gracie Skogman said although no amount has been determined yet, support in the past has been through TV ads, radio ads and mailers.
“This is what makes the (U.S.) Supreme Court decision in (Roe vs. Wade) so amazing,” she said. “Now, we here in Wisconsin can actually have a conversation, have a say, have a vote in what we want our state to look like moving forward.”
When asked for her reaction to Planned Parenthood giving support to Democratic candidates, Skogman said those candidates have a different agenda than the ones supported by Wisconsin Right to Life.
“It’s sickening but not shocking that they would be supporting candidates who truly are in favor of abortion on demand at any point during pregnancy,” Skogman said. “We come back to recent polling in Wisconsin that shows us that a majority of Wisconsinites do favor some restrictions on abortion and can recognize the value in humanity of pre-born life.”
The most recent Marquette University Law School poll shows abortion as the fourth most important issue, according to Professor of Law and Public Policy Charles Franklin.
“A majority, 60% of the public falls in the middle on this question, 35% say legal in most, 25% say illegal in most and that leaves a lot of what policies those two groups — that majority — might accept,” he said. “Compromise on this issue is always hard, but the majority of the public is in the middle categories.”
He said many people in the state have shown a willingness to accept some restrictions since the inception of Roe v. Wade, but now the laws are entirely decided by the state.
“With the Supreme Court striking down Roe, what those policies are, are now completely up to the legislature and the governor to decide,” Franklin said. “The political fight over the issue is now much more real because it doesn’t have the guardrails of Roe vs. Wade to limit how far you can go on the issue.”
Franklin expects the legislature to remain majority Republican, which he says makes the race between Evers and Michels especially important in determining the legality of abortions in the state. Both Planned Parenthood and Wisconsin Right to Life say there is more to be decided in the support of their endorsed candidates in the coming months.
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