An unabashed abortion

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human rights defender won a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court last week by a stunning 11

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points victory over a conservative anti-abortion judge. Milwaukee County Judge Janet Protasiewicz’s defeat of former state Supreme Court Justice Dan Kelly gives the court a liberal majority for the first time in years.

As with other state elections since Roe vs. Wade was reversed last June, voters showed up when abortion was on the ballot and made it clear they support reproductive rights. That was certainly the case in Wisconsin

,

where abortion is not available, except in cases where the pregnant person’s life is in danger. The contested race, which attracted national attention and funding, is considered the most expensive court race in US history.

But what also makes it unusual is how partisan this impartial judicial race became. It’s not just that Protasiewicz was backed by the Democratic Party and abortion rights groups, or that Kelly, who past legal advice to Wisconsin Right to Life, has been supported by the Republican Party (

which

he also worked for in 2020) and anti

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abortion groups. It was notable because Protasiewicz deliberately made her support for abortion rights clear. I think the electorate deserves to know what one’s values ​​are instead of hiding them, she said during the race’s only election debate.

Everyone expects the Wisconsin Supreme Court to eventually rule on a state lawsuit challenging the legitimacy of an 1849 Wisconsin abortion ban. A district attorney has threatened to enforce it, and abortion providers have suspended services for the time being. The attorney general says the ban will be superseded by more recent laws that allow abortion.

During the debate, Protasiewicz stated

That

she couldn’t say how she would vote if that case came before her and

That she

would base its decision solely on the law and the constitution. But she took a swipe at her opponent

,

saying she knew with 100% certainty that if he was elected, he would uphold the ban. Kelly protested and said you don’t know what I think about the abortion ban.

Of course, given the history of the candidates and the groups that support them, it’s a safe bet that Protasiewicz will vote to overturn the abortion ban and that voters knew that when they went to the polls.

That’s not the only highlight

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stakes issue that could come before the state Supreme Court. Law Forward, a Madison-based law firm, is expected to file a lawsuit challenging the states’ voting cards, arguing that partisan gerrymandering is against the state

C

institution. Wisconsin has a Democratic governor and a Republican

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legislature that has a supermajority in the

stands

senates.

Changing those cards can change the composition of the

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legislature and lead to, among other things, state laws protecting abortion, accessing anything controlled by the Republicans

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the legislature has done nothing about it “despite the fact that the majority of Wisconsin residents are committed to reproductive freedom,” said Michelle Velasquez, the director of legal advocacy and services for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin.

It can seem distressing for a judicial candidate to be honest about their stance on issues at stake in future court cases. In recent years, however, we’ve listened to U.S. Supreme Court nominees coyly brushing aside questions about whether they’ll win the nearly 50-year-old Roe vs. Wade decision or, in the case of Brett Kavanaugh, reverently acknowledge that “it’s been confirmed many times over”

only, once confirmed, to reverse that ruling and take away an established constitutional right.

So it’s kind of refreshing to hear a judicial candidate being honest about his opinion about the right to control his body.

Ideally, voters shouldn’t have to decide what rights people should have or, more worryingly, decide what rights people shouldn’t have. The determination of civil rights and the protection of human rights should be the work of the courts. But when the US Supreme Court overturned Roe and stripped away the constitutional right to abortion, it left it to the states and voters of those states to protect reproductive rights.

This is the post-Roe world we live in. For now, we have to trust voters to do the right thing and protect rights that the Supreme Court would not. That’s what Wisconsinite did on Tuesday, and whether we live in that state or not, we should all be thankful.