Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates clash over 1849 abortion ban in lone debate | Abortion
Wisconsin state Supreme Court candidate Janet Protasiewicz and opponent former state Supreme Court Justice Dan Kelly debate March 21, 2023, at the State Bar Center in Madison, Wisconsin.
The two candidates are fighting for one seat Supreme Court of Wisconsin clashed Tuesday over the state’s 1849 abortion ban in their only debate, underscoring the high stakes of an election that could decide the issue in one of the nation’s most important swing states.
Former Justice Daniel Kelly, a conservative, and liberal challenger to Milwaukee County Judge Janet Protasiewicz will run April 4 in an election that will decide the balance of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. In a state where control is divided between a Democratic governor and a Republican-controlled legislature, the high court could decide the outcome of legal battles over state abortion laws, on legislative maps this and more.
The debate — the only one scheduled between Protasiewicz and Kelly — took place the same day Wisconsin voters began submitting early ballots in person.
It is the nation’s most expensive judicial contest on record, with about $30 million spent on advertising and counting, with two weeks left in the campaign. Wisconsin is one of 14 states in the nation that directly elects a Supreme Court justice this way.
Protasiewicz focused his attacks on Kelly on abortion, with the state’s 1849 ban on nearly all abortions currently being challenged in court and likely to reach the state Supreme Court.
“If my opponent is elected, I can tell you with 100% certainty, that the 1849 abortion ban will remain on the books. I can tell you that,” Protasiewicz said during Tuesday’s debate.
He said he had “no commitments” on how he would rule on the 1849 abortion law. But he also cited his personal support for abortion rights, as well as endorsements from pro-abortion rights groups. And he pointed to Kelly’s endorsement of Wisconsin Right to Life, which opposes abortion rights.
Kelly slammed Protasiewicz’s comments as “absolutely false.”
“You don’t know what I think about the abortion ban,” he said. “You know nothing. These things you do not know.”
The debate took place in front of about 100 people seated in an auditorium at the State Bar of Wisconsin offices in Madison. The candidates answered questions from a panel of three Wisconsin journalists while the audience watched in silence.
The rhetoric became increasingly bitter and difficult, especially on the topics of abortion, redistricting and criminal sentencing, with the two opponents standing a few feet apart on a small stage. The differences aired in a multi-million television ad campaign.
Kelly looked directly at her opponent and repeatedly questioned her integrity, saying at one point: “This seems to be a pattern for you, Janet, telling lies about me.” He called her by her first name, Janet, instead of judging.
Protasiewic only occasionally looked at his challenger, but he pushed back against the charge that he was weak on crime: “I worked so hard to keep our community safe, every day I was on the bench.”
Kelly accused Protasiewicz of giving light sentences to violent offenders.
He cited the case of Anton Veasley, who in 2021 was convicted of child enticement and third degree sexual assault and was released after Protasiewicz stayed his five-year sentence with four years of probation, giving him credit for 417 days served. he has spent in prison.
“We look at the sentencing he came up with and the reasoning he used to reach those conclusions, and that’s just irresponsible to allow dangerous convicted criminals to get away so easily with no impact on the communities they’ve just victimized ,” Kelly said.
Protasiewicz acknowledged that “hindsight is 20/20.” But he said Kelly misrepresented his record.
“I have sentenced thousands of people. And it is interesting that some cases have been picked and chosen and twisted, and not enough facts have been given to the voters,” he said.
