(Photo via Wisconsin State Legislature)

Wisconsin state Sen. Joan Ballweg (R-Markesan), whose seat is now vulnerable after new legislative maps were passed in February, has a long record of voting to restrict reproductive freedom for women.

During Ballweg’s near 20-year tenure in the Wisconsin state government, she has worked to limit access to abortion, contraception and in-vitro fertilization. Most recently, Ballweg and her colleagues voted to block a bill that would have guaranteed the right to contraception access in the state of Wisconsin.

In 2020, Ballweg introduced Assembly Joint Resolution 130, which would have redefined the word “persons” to include unborn fetuses. A similar ruling from the Alabama Supreme Court halted in-vitro fertilization procedures in the state for a time earlier this year. Republicans at the time contended that the amendment would make it easier to ban abortion in Wisconsin should Roe v. Wade get overturned.

In 2022, Ballweg supported enforcing a law from 1849 that limits abortion in all cases, and she specifically opposed adding rape and incest exceptions, citing that pregnancy is temporary.

“I believe that life begins at conception … Even if it is started in a very terrible way, that’s still life,” she told Ripon Press’ Joe Schulz. “…If a woman is raped and it results in a pregnancy, that person who raped her was terrible, but she wasn’t.”

Ballweg also worked to limit state funding to any clinic that performs abortion, including those that also offer cancer screenings, pregnancy care and STI screenings. Gov. Tony Evers (D) vetoed the bill, saying that it “maliciously seeks to limit healthcare options for people seeking a number of basic, preventative and life-saving care.”

During her reelection campaigns over the years, Ballweg has collected several endorsements from anti-abortion groups like Wisconsin Right to Life and Pro-Life Wisconsin. These groups have pushed for a total abortion ban in Wisconsin, which Ballweg and her GOP colleagues have proposed for years.

As the majority caucus vice chair, Ballweg is seeking her third term in the Senate, where she claims to be an advocate for “common-sense” policies.

“Since first being elected, I’ve worked to bring common-sense, rural values to Madison, fought for policies that make real, positive change in our state, spent countless hours traveling the district to connect with,” Ballweg said in her reelection statement.