Republican candidate for Governor of Wisconsin expressed during a campaign rally that he did not support the application of the near total ban on abortion in the state and further stated that he would never arrest a doctor after saying during the primaries that he was in favor of a state law that makes it a felony for doctors who perform abortions.
Republican Tim Michels is seeking to be the new Republican governor and is facing his opponent, Democrat Tony Evers, with abortion as his campaign base. Michels, has the backing of former President Donald Trump.
During the primary voting, Michels mentioned during his rallies that supported a state law dating from 1849 that makes it a felony that doctors perform almost all abortions, now in his campaign to become governor of the state he completely changed his way of seeing reproductive medicine in order to get votes.
The Republican assured his supporters that he would sign an abortion bill that would grant exceptions in cases of rape and incest. In addition to ensuring that: “I will never arrest a doctor, as they say. I’m a reasonable guy”.
Wisconsin’s abortion ban states that doctors who perform abortions can be found guilty of a class H felony, punishable by up to six years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.
It is important to mention that the governor is not responsible for enforcing the law, but the comment that Michels made tries to say that no one should arrest a doctor for not complying with it.
Michels’s spokeswoman, Anna Kelly, attempted to clarify her comment, saying that it is the district attorneys, not the governor, who enforce the laws. “He is not a district attorney or a police officer who arrests anyone,” told the AP agency.
For his part, candidate Tony Evers’s campaign spokesman, Sam Roecker, accused Michels of trying to hide his true support for “locking up doctors who perform abortions,” pointing to his longstanding support for a ban on abortions during his tenure.
Democratic district attorneys in the two largest Wisconsin counties where abortions were performed before the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade noted that they will not enforce the state’s ban on termination of pregnancy.
The democrat Tony Evers and his allies have spent a great deal of money on television advertising to criticize Tim Michels for his earlier support of the 1849 law, which he called the “exact mirror” of his position.
Evers is challenging the law in court and has twice called special sessions of the Legislature to repeal the ban and create a way to put the issue before the voters. Republicans rejected both proposals.
Michels argued that the attacks against her on abortion “just don’t hold up.” It is also important to know that the candidate has focused his campaign on reduce crime statewide promising that “life will be better for everyone.”
For his part, Tony Evers had mentioned that he would not sign a bill that grants exceptions to abortion for rape and incest if it leaves the underlying ban on abortion in place. It would also give clemency to any doctor who is convicted under the law and sentenced to prison.