Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers is vowing to grant clemency to anyone charged under an 1849 state law that bans abortions, in the latest attempt by Democrats to get around the Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade.
The abortion ban went back into force after the justices on Friday axed the nationwide right to abortion, leaving the matter up to the states.
Mr. Evers, who faces reelection this year, told the state Democratic Party that he wouldn’t enforce the law and would give a pass to anyone caught in its cross-hairs.
“The 1849 law says that anybody that provides an abortion is subject to a felony, one to six years,” Mr. Evers said. “Did you ever think about the word clemency? I will provide clemency to any physician that is charged under that law.”
“I don’t think that a law that was written before the Civil War, or before women secured the right to vote, should be used to dictate these intimate decisions on reproductive health,” he said.
Mr. Evers called the Supreme Court decision “bulls—t” during the remarks, which were first reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
He also told people to vote for Democrats in the fall because Republicans would ramp up their attacks on abortion rights.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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