Fact check: Harris blames Republicans for reinstating 1849 Wisconsin abortion law
"After Roe was dismantled, extremists evoked a law from 1849 to stop abortion" in Wisconsin," Vice President Kamala Harris said Jan. 22 in Waukesha County.
Posted — UpdatedHarris spoke of "extremists" who have since proposed and passed laws that would "criminalize doctors and punish women" providing or receiving abortions.
But something Harris said about the matter’s history caught our attention:
"In this beautiful state of Wisconsin, after Roe was dismantled, extremists evoked a law from 1849 to stop abortion in this state," she said.
But is Harris right that state lawmakers had a hand in putting that ban back into effect?
In short, no.
Let’s take a look.
Overturning of Roe v. Wade effectively put 1849 ban back in place
Attorneys for supporters and opponents of abortion access had long acknowledged that overturning Roe would put back into effect the 1849 ban.
Still, there was immediate legal uncertainty and challenges.
Rick Esenberg, president and general counsel for the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, said he believed the 1849 law was in effect because lawmakers never repealed it.
So, there were some questions over whether the law still stood, and whether it was enforceable — and the situation could change again, pending what higher courts could do.
But one thing is clear: Contrary to what Harris said, Republican lawmakers didn’t have to lift a finger to put the 1849 provisions back into effect. That happened on its own.
Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin have, however, proposed more restrictions on abortions since then, including the 14-week ban announced before her visit.
PolitiFact Wisconsin didn’t hear back from Harris’ office until after this fact-check had published.
However, her office later said that she used the term "extremists" to refer to elected officials in general "who used the fear of the law to stop abortion services until a judge clarified it."
But later in the speech she used "extremists" to directly point to Republicans, saying, "This afternoon in the Wisconsin Legislature, extremists will hold a hearing" on a 14-week abortion ban.
The new information does not change our ruling.
PolitiFact ruling
In remarks in Big Bend, Wisconsin, Vice President Kamala Harris said that "after Roe was dismantled, extremists evoked a law from 1849 to stop abortion in this state."
After the decision, the defunct 1849 ban went back into effect, and has since been the subject of lawsuits.
Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin didn’t play a role in reinstating that ban, though they have proposed other measures that would tighten abortion access.
We rate her claim False.
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