Republican gubernatorial candidate Tim Michels now says he would sign an abortion bill with exceptions for rape and incest if it came across his desk as governor.
Michels told the Dan O’Donnell show on WISN Radio on Friday he would defer to the will of the legislature.
“Yeah, yes, I would sign that bill. And let me say a couple of things about that I am pro life and make no apologies for that. But I also understand that this is a representative democracy. And if the people in this case the legislature brought a bill before me, as you just stated, I would sign that,” Michels said.
Michels has been previously on record saying his position is an ‘exact mirror’ of the 1849 law currently on the books in Wisconsin. That law only allows exceptions to save the life of a woman with abortions banned in every other case. It makes abortion a felony and doctors who give abortions face up to six years in prison and thousands of dollars in fines.
The latest Marquette University Law School poll found that more than 80% of respondents support exceptions for rape and incest in Wisconsin’s abortion ban. Michels has faced attacks from his oppponent, incumbent Governor Tony Evers, on his previous position supporting the 1849 law.