Wisconsin GOP state Senate candidate Erik Severson says life begins at conception
Medical groups say granting legal status at fertilization can delay emergency care. Severson faces Democrat Charly Ray in a race Democrats hope to flip.
Erik Severson, a Republican candidate for Wisconsin’s 25th state Senate District, has indicated his support for reproductive rights restrictions by saying life begins at conception.
In an August 20 Facebook post, Severson highlighted an endorsement from Wisconsin Right to Life, an anti-abortion advocacy group that works to outlaw abortion. In the post, Severson also reiterated his belief that “life begins at conception.”
The nation’s most restrictive abortion bans rest on the principle that life begins at conception. Medical organizations warn that enforcing legal status from fertilization jeopardizes patient safety and can cause life-threatening delays in emergency care. This debate played out in Wisconsin in January, when Republican lawmakers failed to pass Senate Bill 553. If signed into law, the bill would have redefined an “unborn child” to mean a “human being from fertilization until birth.” All 18 state Senate Republicans voted for it.
Severson, an emergency room physician, also completed Wisconsin Right to Life’s candidate survey. In it, he indicated support for defending pro-life laws in Wisconsin, opposed enshrining abortion rights into state law, and called for defunding Planned Parenthood locations.
Severson, 52, previously served in the Wisconsin state Assembly from 2011-15. He is the Republican nominee for the state’s 25th state Senate district, and will face Democrat Charly Ray in November. The seat is open because Quinn, who currently represents the 25th, is running instead in the red-leaning 23rd District after redistricting redrew the map.
Democrats see the 25th race as a flip opportunity as the party seeks its first state Senate majority since 2009.
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