Ruden, thanks for explaining all this to us.
>> Thank you. Fredricka. >> Just last year, the
Wisconsin Supreme Court overturned the state's 1849
abortion ban, the 4 to 3 decision by the Liberal
majority settled the legal question of which state
statute governs abortion. But that doesn't mean the
topic won't be a big factor in the ad campaign. In this
spring's race for a seat on the Supreme Court, that
race is between conservative Judge Maria
Lazar and Liberal Judge Chris Taylor "Here& Now".
Senior political reporter Zac Schultz sat down with
the candidates and has the story.
>> In 2022, the United States Supreme Court
scrambled the political world with the Dobbs
decision overturning Roe versus Wade and returning
the issue of abortion to the states. In Wisconsin,
that meant an 1849 abortion ban went back into effect.
>> As we fight to protect and now restore
reproductive freedom in Wisconsin.
>> The Democratic Attorney general, Josh Kaul, filed a.
>> Lawsuit saying a more recent abortion law passed
by Republicans when Roe was still in effect, nullified
the 1849 ban. The court agreed with the Liberal
majority deciding the case by one vote. This election
will fill the seat of the retiring conservative
Justice Rebecca Bradley. So if Judge Taylor or Judge
Lazar had been on that case, it wouldn't have changed
the outcome. But we wanted to know if they agreed with
the court's decision. >> So I agree with the
decision that the 1849 law should not be implemented
based on laws that had been passed since then that
directly conflict with it. I think that that was the
right decision by the majority on the state
Supreme Court. Again, it was by one vote. This
really contrasts with my opponent. My opponent would
have voted to implement an 1849 abortion ban that was
passed when I couldn't vote and many people couldn't
vote. So I think it was really the right decision
by our state Supreme Court. And that's a big point of
difference between myself and my opponent.
>> I'm not going to say how it would rule, but I will
say what I will do moving forward, and I have put
that in positions. I've released a statement, I've
released an op ed talking about abortion and
indicating that this is a really complicated issue
for the woman, and her life is so valuable and
important. And I've indicated that 1 I respect
the rule as decided by the state Supreme Court. I will
only be one of three members in the majority in
the minority, so I won't be changing that. And two, I
think women in the state need clarity. They need
certainty. And three, you need to lower the
temperature on this issue. This is resolved as far as
I'm concerned, for courts, for the judiciary. The
legislature can do what they want, and the people
in the state of Wisconsin can do what they want. But
the judiciary, it's clear the judiciary, it's clear