Wisconsin Democrat attorney general says he won’t enforce potential abortion bans

Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul (D) said Tuesday that he would not prosecute any residents of his state for having an abortion if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade this summer. 

An 1849 abortion ban has been unenforceable in the state of Wisconsin since Roe v. Wade but would take effect if the law were overturned, according to The Associated Press.

Kaul told the newswire that it’s not clear what the Wisconsin law would be, as it would depend on what exactly the Supreme Court decides and any potential legal issues stemming from a law that has not been active in almost 50 years. 

“Even if courts were to interpret that law as being enforceable, as attorney general I would not use the resources of the Wisconsin Department of Justice either to investigate alleged violations of that abortion ban or to prosecute alleged violations of it,” Kaul told the AP. 

The attorney general noted that prosecuting abortion cases would divert resources from his department for investigating crimes like homicide, sexual assault and arson.

“Diverting resources from those important cases to the kinds of cases that could be brought under abortion ban, which I also believe to be unconstitutional, is not something that I would do as attorney general,” Kaul told the AP. “And it would result in serious negative health consequences, including potentially the death of women who wanted to seek to exercise what for nearly 50 years been understood to be a constitutionally protected right.”

Kaul is facing challenges to his reelection campaign in the 2022 midterms from two Wisconsin Republicans who both want to criminalize abortion, according to the AP. Gov. Tony Evers (D) is also up for reelection and is facing anti-abortion opponents. 

Evers earlier this month vetoed five bills that would have restricted abortion access in Wisconsin by providing stricter reporting requirements on patients and providers and by allowing third parties to press for damage claims in unwanted abortion cases.