Top Wisconsin Senate Democrat wants constitutional amendment on abortion

“Laws can be overturned by Republican majorities in the Legislature and in our courts, and it is unacceptable to leave the door open on a fundamental right. There cannot be another generation of women who fight for abortion access and succeed, only to see it ripped away,” Hesselbein wrote in a recent op-ed. “That is why we must ultimately enshrine reproductive freedom in the Wisconsin constitution, giving the final say to Wisconsin voters who have told us time and time again that politicians in Madison shouldn’t be making personal healthcare-related decisions for women across Wisconsin.”

Wisconsin’s current abortion law bans ending a pregnancy after 20 weeks. The state did have an 1849 law that banned almost every abortion in the state, but the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck that law down last year.

Hesselbein said, however, that a constitutional amendment is the only way to make sure the abortion question is fully settled.

“Our bottom line is this: reproductive rights cannot be subject to the shifting tides of electoral politics. It is time to take this issue out of the arena of partisan politics, enshrine the right to bodily autonomy in our State’s Constitution, and guarantee Wisconsinites reproductive healthcare for generations to come,” she added.

Hesselbein promised that guaranteeing abortion rights will be one of the top priorities for a Democrat-majority legislature.

“When Democrats win legislative majorities, we will enshrine the will of the majority in our state constitution. We will pass the right to reproductive healthcare in both chambers, in two concurrent Legislatures, and when we do, the residents of our state will have the opportunity to vote on a constitutional amendment to guarantee this right for Wisconsin women,” she wrote.

Hesselbein is not offering any specifics on what the right to abortion would include or whether there would be any limits on abortion in Wisconsin.

Democrats have been locked out of power in the legislature for more than a decade-and-a-half, but they are eying victories in both the Senate and Assembly in November.

If Democrats do win those majorities, voters would not be able to have their say until the spring of 2028 at the earliest.