Wisconsin Supreme Court Overturns 1849 Abortion Ban Amid Partisan Shift

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has overturned an 1849 abortion ban that technically resurfaced following the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark reversal of Roe v. Wade in 2022. This decision, passed by a narrow 4-3 vote, demonstrates how the shifting ideological makeup of state courts can have profound effects on longstanding laws and policies. For over fifteen years, Wisconsin’s Supreme Court maintained a conservative majority which supported strict interpretations aligned with traditional values—including enforcement of older statutes such as this abortion ban. However, recent elections in 2023 and 2025 brought liberal judges to the bench, flipping control and effectively rewriting the legal...