State Supreme Court Candidate Brian Hagedorn Defends Writing About Homosexuality, Abortion

Conservative state Supreme Court candidate Brian Hagedorn on Monday defended blog posts he wrote during law school that were sharply critical of homosexuality and abortion.

Hagedorn wrote the blog posts, which were first reported on by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, in 2005 and 2006.

In them, the judge compared homosexuality to bestiality and said Planned Parenthood is more interested in “killing babies than … helping women.”

Speaking on WTAQ’s John Muir Show on Monday, Hagedorn said his personal opinions shouldn’t matter to voters.

“My job as a judge is to say what the law is and not what I think the law should be,” Hagedorn said. “I’ve said that from the very beginning.”

Hagedorn also said criticism of the posts are attacks on his Christian religious beliefs.

“If you’ve even been a Catholic or a Christian of various stripes, you’re going to get attacked,” he said.

The state Democratic Party said Hagedorn is an “extreme partisan” whose “fringe, radical beliefs” belong nowhere near the courtroom.

Hagedorn, who was appointed to the bench by former Gov. Scott Walker in 2015, is facing liberal-backed judge Lisa Neubauer in April’s state Supreme Court election.

Editor’s note: This story was updated with original reporting by WPR staff.