The Sconi

MADISON, Wis. – Attorney General Josh Kaul announced that the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a motion and memorandum in support of the Kaul v. Urmanski State Plaintiffs intervening as petitioners in the Planned Parenthood v. Urmanski original action.

Both Kaul v. Urmanski and Planned Parenthood v. Urmanski are currently before the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Kaul asks whether Wisconsin “does” have a near-total abortion ban, while Planned Parenthood questions whether, under the Wisconsin Constitution, Wisconsin “could” have such a ban. The Kaul State Plaintiffs seek to intervene as petitioners in Planned Parenthood to argue that the answer to both questions is “no.”

“We are seeking to intervene in this case to help establish that the Wisconsin Constitution protects access to safe and legal abortion and does not permit the state legislature to ban nearly all abortions,” said Attorney General Josh Kaul. “The government should not be able to control critical reproductive health decisions.”

The Kaul v. Urmanski State Plaintiffs include Attorney General Josh Kaul, the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services, the Wisconsin Medical Examining Board, and its Chair Clarence P. Chou, MD. The memorandum supporting their motion explains that they have significant interests in the outcome of the Planned Parenthood original action due to their roles as plaintiffs in the connected case and their positions as state officials.

Kaul v. Urmanski began in June 2022 when Gov. Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul announced their lawsuit arguing that Wis. Stat. § 940.04 cannot be enforced regarding abortion. The Dane County Circuit Court ruled that this law bans only feticide, not consensual abortions. By moving to intervene in Planned Parenthood v. Urmanski, they aim to argue that rights guaranteed by the Wisconsin Constitution would prohibit a near-total abortion ban.