Wisconsin Legislative Council debunks Wisconsin Right to Life's main argument against personhood amendment

The Wisconsin Legislative Council (WLC), a non-partisan service agency that provides legal services to the Wisconsin Legislature, drafted a memo for State Representative Andre Jacque addressing the implications of the Wisconsin Personhood Amendment (Assembly Joint Resolution [AJR] 77) on Wisconsin’s pre-Roe v. Wade criminal abortion ban (Wis. Stats. 940.04). Representative Jacque, author of the personhood amendment, released the WLC memo to his fellow legislators this morning along with his own memo summarizing their conclusions.

Wisconsin Right to Life’s central argument against introduction and passage of a personhood constitutional amendment is that it would overturn by “implied repeal” Wisconsin’s pre-Roe criminal abortion statute. The WLC concludes the opposite.

Citing United States and Wisconsin Supreme Court case law, the WLC memo states that it is unlikely that 940.04 would be vacated in its entirety by implied repeal. If anything were to be impliedly repealed (and that’s a big if), it would be only those sections of 940.04 that may conflict with the equality provision in the amendment – for example, the life-of-the-mother exception and the differing penalties for killing a quick versus non-quick child. And removing these inequitable sections would only strengthen 940.04!

Rep. Jacque states in his memo that, “I therefore agree with the WLC when it states in its memo that ‘the statute appears to complement rather than conflict with the proposed constitutional amendment, insofar as the amendment expands the inherent right to life recognized in the Wisconsin Constitution to unborn persons and the statute provides a basis for criminal liability for harm to such persons.’”

Given the WLC’s conclusion, Pro-Life Wisconsin hopes that Wisconsin Right to Life will promptly remove its opposition to the Wisconsin Personhood Amendment. It is clear that AJR 77 would not harm Wisconsin Statutes 940.04 by “implied repeal” or otherwise. Accordingly, concerns over 940.04 should not stand in the way of supporting PLW’s personhood amendment.

Please click here to view AJR 77, and please go to PersonhoodWisconsin.com for more information on the Wisconsin Personhood Amendment campaign.

Photo