With only a few votes left to be counted in Wisconsin Primaries, those legislators who sponsored and/or voted for AB975, the first bill lobbied for by John Pudner on behalf of the Faith & Freedom Coalition, were won 15 of 16 races – winning nearly 2-to-1 with an incredible 97,560 votes against those who voted against AB 975 or were endorsed by groups who opposed.
Click on the blog and video of Faith and Freedom’s testimony in favor of AB975, which would have given Wisconsin voters the chance to outlaw late-term abortions in a public vote to change the current law in Wisconsin which allows abortions up to the 22nd week of pregnancy.
We were thrilled the measure passed the State Assembly – as US Senator Ron Johnson also supported the measure. However, we were surprised that other pro-life groups joined all 35 pro-choice Democrats, most of whom support no limits on abortion, to oppose the measure. They argued that pro-life laws should only be passed if they include no exceptions, which was the case under the 1849 law thrown out by a judge who then changed the law to allow abortions up to 22 weeks (in what we consider a terrible decision).
This is one area in which we noticed a big difference between the feedback we get when speaking to conservative gatherings in counties throughout Wisconsin and knocking on tens of thousands of doors. In the smaller group meetings, many believed no pro-life law should be supported unless it includes no exceptions, while when knocking on doors, most pro-life voters believe any way to make laws more pro-life should be supported as a step in the right direction.
As noted in my testimony above, I wish it were feasible to pass pro-life measures like what the Georgia Faith and Freedom Coalition, alongside a former employee of mine and other groups, helped pass, which would prohibit an abortion once the heartbeat and brain waves of the baby are apparent. For years, I told pro-life groups that once Roe was overturned, we might be successful in many states if we proposed 99% pro-life laws (exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother), but if we went for 100% with no exceptions, we would likely get 0%.
Unfortunately, the latter has happened, with efforts even in extremely pro-life places like Kansas failing at the ballot box because they allowed no exceptions on their ballot.
Here is the record of those who supported AB975 (right column) in Tuesday’s Republican primaries. Click here for the roll call vote.
