Walker, GOP's Anti-Choice Law Ruled Unconstitutional

Gov. Scott Walker and the Republican Party legislators fooled many Wisconsin citizens with their 2013 Act 37 to stop a woman's choice to an abortion, but the federal judges in the Seventh Circuit ridiculed the anti-abortion intent and effect of the law from its inception, and ruled it unconstitutional.

Yesterday, a three-judge panel upheld U.S. District Judge's William Conley's 2013 opinion concluding the GOP-imposed law is "motivated by an improper purpose, namely to restrict the availability of abortion services in Wisconsin," (Bice, Spivak, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel).

The case is Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin et al v. Attorney General Brad Schimel (N0 15-1736). Orals were heard October 1, 2015.

Schimel is a Republican who performs political work in the legal arena for the Scott Walker administration.

Writes Judge Richard Posner for the three-judge panel (with rightwing Judge Daniel Manion dissenting):

There are those who would criminalize all abortions, thus terminating the constitutional right asserted in Roe and Casey and a multitude of other decisions. And there are those who would criminalize all abortions except ones that terminate a pregnancy caused by rape or are necessary to protect the life or (in some versions) the health of the pregnant woman. But what makes no sense is to abridge the constitutional right to an abortion on the basis of spurious contentions regarding women’s health—and the abridgment challenged in this case would actually endanger women’s health. It would do that by reducing the number of abortion doctors in Wisconsin, thereby increasing the waiting time for obtaining an abortion, and that increase would in turn compel some women to defer abortion to the second trimester of their pregnancy—which the studies we cited earlier find to be riskier than a first-trimester abortion. For abortions performed in the first trimester the rate of major complications is 0.05-0.06 percent (that is, between five one-hundredths of 1 percent and six one-hundredths of 1 percent. It is 1.3 percent for second-trimester abortions between 22 and 26 times higher. [p.23]

Notes Posner on Republican end-around and disingenuous legislative initiatives to halt the Constitutionally protected women's' choice to choose to have an abortion:

A great many Americans, including a number of judges, legislators, governors, and civil servants, are passionately opposed to abortion—as they are entitled to be. But persons who have a sophisticated understanding of the law and of the Supreme Court know that convincing the Court to overrule Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey is a steep uphill fight, and so some of them proceed indirectly, seeking to discourage abortions by making it more difficult for women to obtain them. They may do this in the name of protecting the health of women who have abortions, yet as in this case the specific measures they support may do little or nothing for health, but rather strew impediments to abortion. [pp 24.25]

Concluded Posner: "[I]t is apparent that the defendants have failed to make a dent in the district court's opinion granting the permanent injunction sought by the plaintiffs." [pp 28, 29]

Roe, (upheld in Planned Parenthood of Se. Penn. v. Casey (1992)), is a landmark case acknowledging the personal, "fundamental" right to liberty and privacy (against state action) individual women retain in the First, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendments.

Scott Walker, GOP Deny Their Anti-choice Views in Court, Public Statements

The effect, "purpose" and "intent" of Scott Walker's TRAP (Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers) law is to shut down access to abortion in Wisconsin.

Judges Richard Posner and David Hamilton note these facts in a hearing yesterday at the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago, (hear the audio), and are dismissive of Walker, Attorney General Brad Schimel (R) (who sat in the audience) and the Republican Party of Wisconsin's pretensions to the contrary.

The case is (15-1736) Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin v. Brad D. Schimel, heard October 1, 2015.

Wisconsin Act 37 (2013) is designed to stop abortions, a law in the words of Judge Posner that represents a "clear flaunting of Roe v. Wade."

Roe, (upheld in Planned Parenthood of Se. Penn. v. Casey (1992)), is a landmark case acknowledging the personal, "fundamental" right to liberty and privacy (against state action) individual women retain in the First, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth Amendment, and Fourteenth Amendments.

Walker and the extremist Republican Party—which enacted this law with unanimous GOP support and against unanimous Democratic Party opposition—know most Americans want individual women to make the choice to bear a child, and not Republican-led state governments.

So Walker and Republicans pretend to the position abortion should be left between a woman and her doctor, while enacting laws such as Wisconsin Act 37 crafted to stop abortion.

Judge Posner actually cited Walker's public statements in the hearing, noting Walker's public stances against abortion in all cases, even in cases to save the life of a mother, speaking to the intent of the law (Marley, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel).

Walker through his spokeswoman denied his own anti-choice view:

Spokeswoman Laurel Patrick said Posner was wrong about Walker's views.

'The appropriate role of a judge is to make decisions based on the rule of law, rather than to insert inflammatory political commentary,' she said in an email. (Marley, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel).

A 2013 restraining order against the Republican-enacted law remains in effect. And Roe and Casey remain the law of the land, protecting women again undue burdens such as Walker's TRAP law heard at the hearing.

Meanwhile Republicans across the nation, including all major Republican candidates for the presidency continue their stance the state and not women should make the decision on whether women bear children.

Judge Posner Ripped Wisconsin DoJ Atty on GOP Anti-abortion Law

Richard A. Posner rips GOP's anti-choice
law, enjoined in Wisconsin in August

Heading into the new year, we can be thankful that the judiciary may become reinvigorated as a Constitutional check on malicious, bigoted underground movements, arising now in the Republican Party in states across the nation

Press reports on the December 3, 2013 oral arguments on Wisconsin GOP's anti-abortion law reveal a hostile Judge Richard Posner immediately interrupting Wisconsin's assistant attorney general Daniel Lennington with long questions that could only be characterized as hostile, cutting and brilliant.

This is the Richard Posner that everyone besides the Tea Party and Scott Walker want—pull up a chair, a hot cup of coffee and listen to Posner and his two colleagues on the panel, David F. Hamilton and Daniel A. Manion.

You can hear attorney Lennington getting hammered (mostly by Posner and Hamilton) at the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Enter 13-2726, for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin v. J.B. Van Hollen.

Wisconsin's anti-abortion law, Act 37, passed with unanimous GOP support and unanimous Democratic opposition, was enjoined in August 2013 by U.S. District Judge William Conley.

No one believes Wisconsin Act 37 is anything but an anti-abortion law intended to create barriers to a woman's choice, even if Scott Walker and the Republican Party pretend otherwise.

Reports Michael Tarm:

At times appearing exasperated, Posner repeatedly interrupted Lennington, asking why lawmakers — if it's true they saw the law as primarily a public health measure and not an anti-abortion bill — focused on abortion clinics and not other outpatient clinics, such as those performing laparoscopic surgeries.

'Why did they start with abortion clinics? Because it begins with the letter 'A'?' Posner asked.

"Wisconsin (is) one of several states where hospital admitting privileges are required for abortion providers," reports the New York Times, all states with strongly anti-choice GOP governors such as Scott Walker.