Wisconsin gov won't back abortion exceptions if ban remains

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said Tuesday that he wouldn't sign a bill creating exceptions for rape and incest if it would keep in place the state's 1849 abortion ban.

Evers faces Republican Tim Michels, who supported the 1849 ban before changing positions after he won the Republican primary and now says he would sign a bill granting exceptions.

“I wouldn't sign it because that leaves the underlying law in place which is a ban on abortion," Evers said in response to a question at a Rotary Club of Milwaukee event co-sponsored by the Milwaukee Press Club and Wispolitics.com.

The Wisconsin Legislature is controlled by Republicans, some of whom have voiced support for granting rape and incest exceptions to the state law that came into play after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. That ruling left it up to states to determine whether abortion should be legal.

In line with Democrats across the country, Evers has tried to make abortion a central issue in the race that polls show is about even. Polls have also shown a wide majority of Wisconsin voters support keeping abortion legal and at the very least having rape and incest exceptions.

Evers has twice called special sessions of the Legislature seeking to repeal the 1849 ban and create a way to put the question before voters. Republicans rejected both proposals. Evers said Tuesday the Wisconsin Legislature should codify Roe v. Wade.

Evers also supports a lawsuit filed by Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul seeking to overturn the state ban, which passed before women had the right to vote and before the Civil War.

Evers, in his comments before taking questions, repeatedly branded Michels as too “radical” and “dangerous” for the state. He singled out his long-held support of the...