Vos: Wisconsin’s 1849 abortion ban should include exceptions for rape, incest if Roe v. Wade falls

Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said he would like to see exceptions for rape and incest if Wisconsin’s ban on abortion goes into effect, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Vos made the comments a week after the leak of a draft U.S. Supreme Court decision that would overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that found a constitutional right to seek an abortion.

“I believe that if a woman is raped or a victim of incest that she should have a right with their family to decide what’s the right choice for the child,” Vos told the newspaper.

While the draft ruling could change before it’s likely released this summer, overturning Roe would put back in place an 173-year-old state ban on abortions in all cases except when two doctors determine a mother’s life is at risk.

Vos said a ruling on Roe could force lawmakers to consider other related reproductive issues like contraception. Vos told the Journal Sentinel that he didn’t want to ban what he called “pre-sex birth control” like IUDs but would have to think about whether he would support banning emergency contraception like Plan B — which he opposed early in his career.

Vos emphasized that he supports birth control generally.

His stance on exceptions to an abortion ban puts him at odds with the four Republicans running for governor — who have all said they support a total ban on abortions. The Republican candidates running for governor are former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, construction executive Tim Michels, former U.S. Senate candidate Kevin Nicholson and state Rep. Tim Ramthun, R-Campbellsport.

If elected, they could veto any revisions to the current ban if Vos were to get them through the Legislature.