Female voter registration surges after Wisconsin's total abortion ban
The number of women registering to vote in Wisconsin has increased dramatically after the Supreme Court rejected the landmark rule providing American women access to abortion in June.
Sam White, a 23-year-old college student, had scheduled an abortion for the day the Supreme Court repealed Roe v. Wade.
“I got a call from Planned Parenthood, and they told me they were unable to see me, as effectively abortion in Wisconsin had immediately been made illegal. I was upset about the impact it had on the country but also the impact it had on me as an individual.”
White, who says she couldn't afford to have a child on her own while also going to school full time and working as a server at night, says she's glad she didn't have to, seeing as she overcame several obstacles to reach the state of Minnesota, where she could legally get an abortion.
The provision of abortion services in Wisconsin is now illegal after the June 24 overturning of the 1973 historic Roe v. Wade verdict, with no exceptions for rape or incest.
Advocates for women's rights, such as the Planned Parenthood group, are urging women to register to vote and cast ballots in the next midterm elections to overturn the prohibition.
Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin's Joella Striebel said, "From our standpoint, it is important that we elect reproductive advocates who will fight to restore that access and do what they can at the legislative and judicial levels."