In her preliminary ruling on Friday that allowed the case to advance, Judge Diane Schlipper indicated that she did not believe that doctors could be prosecuted for performing consensual abortions before a fetus reached viability. She wrote that “there is no such thing as an ‘1849 abortion ban’ in Wisconsin.”The decision by Judge Schlipper, of the Circuit Court in Dane County, gave credence to the legal arguments used by abortion-rights supporters and kept open a judicial path to restore abortion access. Mr. Urmanski, a Republican, had previously indicated to local reporters that he would be open to prosecuting abortion providers under the 1849 law if a case was presented to his office. Mr. Urmanski said in an email on Friday that he was in court and had not yet reviewed the ruling. Two lawyers representing him in the case did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

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Persons: Diane Schlipper, ”, Judge Schlipper, “, Josh Kaul, Joel Urmanski, Urmanski Organizations: Republican Locations: Wisconsin, Dane County, Sheboygan County