In 2022, the United States Supreme Court scrambled the political world with the Dobbs v. Jackson decision, overturning Roe v. Wade and returning the issue of abortion to the states. In Wisconsin, that meant an 1849 abortion ban went back into effect.

Democratic Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin Supreme Court agreed, with its liberal majority deciding the case by a 4-3 vote in its 2025 ruling.

But that doesn’t mean the topic won’t be a factor in the ad campaign in the spring 2026 race for the state’s high court.

This election will fill the seat of the retiring conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley. If either candidate — Judge Chris Taylor or Judge Maria Lazar — had been on the case, it wouldn’t have changed the outcome, but Here & Now 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. 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,” said Taylor.

“I’m not going to say how I would rule, but I will say what I will do moving forward. 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, one, I respect the rule as decided by the state Supreme Court. I will only be one of three members in the minority, so I won’t be changing that. And two, I think women in this 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, it’s done,” said Lazar.