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it's done.
>> Reporting from Madison.

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I'm Zac Schultz for "Here&
Now".

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>> While the Wisconsin
Supreme Court has settled

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the issue of state law
surrounding abortion, the

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medical procedure is not a
constitutionally protected

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right in Wisconsin. So the
next legislature and

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governor could change the
law at any time. As part of

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our continuing series
examining the big issues in

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the governor's election,
Zac Schultz asked the

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leading candidates about
the topic of abortion.

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>> My choice.
>> In the nearly four years

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since the Dobbs decision
has returned the issue of

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abortion to the states,
Wisconsin's Republican

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controlled legislature and
Democratic Governor Tony

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Evers were not able to
agree on any laws regarding

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abortion, whether that was
time limits, exceptions for

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rape and incest, or medical
definitions for when the

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life of the mother was in
danger. We asked the

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leading candidates for
governor if they would like

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to see any changes to
Wisconsin's abortion laws.

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>> Yes, and I've authored
many of them. I believe

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that abortion and frankly,
all health care decisions

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are personal and individual
politicians have no role in

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making those decisions for
you. And certainly we

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cannot allow abortion,
contraception, IVF to be

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criminalized or put doctors
under threat when they're

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simply providing care. I
want to see your freedom to

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make your own decisions
guaranteed in this state.

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>> Look, I'm a huge
champion when it comes down

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to to abortion here in the
state of Wisconsin. When I

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was a state representative
in 2017, I coauthored

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legislation declaring
abortion as health care and

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as a as a father of three
daughters. Being a girl dad

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times three is important
for me to make sure that

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they have the same rights
that their mother and

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grandmother had, not less.
And so I'm going to always

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be a champion for women's
rights to choose.

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>> No. So I voted for the
current law, which ten

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years ago when I was in the
state legislature, which is

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you can have an abortion up
to five months. And I voted

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for that law. And as
governor, I will uphold it.

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>> Well, abortion to me is
a decision that is best

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made between a woman and
her health care provider.

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Abortion is health care.
And so, you know, I'd like

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to see us to do things that
get politics out of that

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and ensure that that women
and their doctors can make

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those decisions, educated
and informed decisions on

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their own.
>> What we need to do is to

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make sure that we enshrine
Roe within Wisconsin.

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That's what I've always
been really clear about.

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I'm, again, a nurse by
background. We know that

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these type of healthcare
decisions are best made

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between a patient and their
doctor, and Roe has been

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something that has kept
women safe for decades. And

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we need to make sure that
we have legislation to keep

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women safe in Wisconsin so
that it does not go back

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and forth between if we
have different leaders

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between Republicans and
Democrats.

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1849 abortion ban. And I
think abortion freedom and

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is, you know, about health
care and democracy as well.

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And so I think it's
important that we keep in

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mind that abortion is
health care, and that

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access to that health care
has to be equitable.

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>> And I would love to see
this country get back to a

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pre Dobbs era, because Roe
was the law of the land

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that was generally accepted
by Democrats, of course,

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but even Republicans who
didn't necessarily like

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abortion wasn't their thing.
Roe was sort of a

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compromise for them and
something they felt

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comfortable with.
>> I would like to see it

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proactively protected.
Women's right to choose

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right now is dependent on
court cases, and we need to

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have a law on the on the
books that protects women's

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right to choose, protects
women's rights, to take

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care of everything that
they need for their bodies

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and puts women first in
that conversation.