Doyle should make reproductive rights an issue

The election for governor is a year away, and it's sure to be competitive. While I still think it's incumbent Jim Doyle's to lose, he's going to need issues to go after either Mark Green or Scott Walker on.

In the context of the New Jersey governor's race, Scott Shields says the following at MyDD:

If Samuel Alito makes it onto the Supreme Court, as many believe he will, it's not unlikely that he will vote to overturn the right to privacy as determined by Roe v. Wade. While this won't instantly criminalize abortion, it will turn family planning into a state issue. While voters often ignore reproductive rights in state elections, moderates and progressives can no longer afford to do so.

SurveyUSA's recent 50 state poll shows that 57% of Wisconsin residents consider themselves pro-choice. With Green and Walker both opposed to abortion rights, Doyle should press them on what action they would take in the event that Roe is overturned at the federal level. Even with those numbers, if we end up with a Republican legislature and a Republican governor, you can rest assure that the religious right is going to push hard to criminalize abortion in Wisconsin if Roe is overturned. Doyle should make it clear that his re-election could be essential in preserving reproductive rights for women in Wisconsin.