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Now live from the Civic Media Studios in Madison, Wisconsin, where the political party is just
beginning, welcome to the Devil's Advocate's radio show.
Friends proving it's never personal, only politics.
Now here's your host, Dom and Krut.
Welcome to the Devil's Advocate's radio show.
I am your host, Dominic, so if your Krutie is still on vacation, he promises, he swears
he'll be back tomorrow in studio ready to rock and roll just in time for the Friday.
So thank you for joining us, Nate is on the board.
You can join us at 844-967-2789, got a big show lined up for all of you today, and seriously
appreciate you tuning in.
I know you have lots of options, lots of tunes out there, lots of things to distract us
from the issues, but you're tuning in here because you want to know what's happening and
my own little personal twist on it.
I do appreciate that.
We take it very seriously, most of the time, two day at 430, Michelle Bolasquiz, she's
the director of Legal Advocacy and Services, or Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, joining
us at 430 Planned Parenthood, ask Wisconsin Supreme Court to find the 1849 abortion law
unconstitutional, lots of moving parts to this.
We know what was it, a district attorney from Shabbarigan County, also one of the Supreme
Court in Wisconsin to chime in on this, we're going to talk to Michelle at 430, at 5 o'clock,
the National News, our pal James Santel, former U.S. attorney, of course, post.
Morning Canola, I believe, still called at Civic Media at 799 on Saturdays here.
Jim's going to join us at 5 o'clock, kind of recap some of the legal travails, and of
course, this Hunter Biden, this impeachment of Joe Biden, effort by the Republicans, just
imploding because, of course, they're using, what, Russian plants, I don't know, we'll
get to it, and all the updates on the Trump cases as well.
Michelle Bolasquiz, James Santel, of course, you on the phones, 844, 967, 2789, some of
the local headlines want to throw out there real quick, Paul Ryan thinks my Gallagher
could run again.
So what, let's move along, Paul Ryan, we got you cash and checks, what, the Wisconsin
Assembly, they're working, they're working folks, have no fear, the Wisconsin Republicans
are here and they're working for you.
I'm going to go a long way to get to a point, but bear with me and stick around, Mitchell
Schmidt reporting at the Madison.com, the Wisconsin State Journal.
Wisconsin voters could decide in August, if the legislature should have final say over
how the governor spends federal funds allocated to the state, but they're going to take way
more power from the governor.
Now, you think they'd be doing this if it were still governor Scott Walker, Republicans?
I kind of doubt it.
The Assembly voted along party lines on Thursday with all of Democratic lawmakers opposed
to advance a proposed constitutional amendment that seeks to limit the governor's authority
over how some federal funds are spent in Wisconsin.
The chamber also voted 63 to 33 with a Democratic reps, Sylvia Ortiz Vales of Milwaukee and
she list of Madison, joining Republicans in support of the measure to advance a separate
proposed constitutional amendment that would bar local and state officials from closing
churches in a state of emergency.
Now folks, you know how I am here.
This one really, really gets me as the non-believer here.
Assembly joint resolution six now heads back to the state senate, which is planning to hold
at least a one more four period next month.
If approved there, the question will come before voters on the August 9th.
Primary.
The resolution would give the legislature final say over how the governor spends federal
funds allocated to the state, Republicans sought to secure more control over the money
after governor Evers oversaw the distribution of billions of federal COVID relief funds
pumped into the state.
Well, Republicans, they didn't get a chance to divert that to have an input on that, so
they're very mad about that.
A senate joint resolution 54 needs to pass both chambers again in the 2526 legislative
session.
If it does, it would come before the voters as early as April of 2025, according to
the legislative reference bureau that proposal would clarify, this is the one that gets
me.
All of the state officials vote may not order the closure or forbid gatherings in places
of worship in response to a state of emergency at the national state or local level, including
an emergency related to public health.
Reptie Bowden from a Republican from Hillburg, Wisconsin, said this before the vote.
I'm sure, like in the past, if there is an emergency that arises in the future, places
of worship will make the right choices.
Really, you're going to give a pass to the churches and the synagogues and the mosques
and whatever they claim to be a religious organization.
If there's a national state or local emergency, they don't have to abide.
We're going to continue to give a pass to the quote-unquote religious people because they're
quote-unquote religious.
The proposal is largely in response to the state's 2020 stay-at-home order, which limited
indoor church gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court ultimately struck down that order, again, this was the conservative
Wisconsin Supreme Court, but Republicans have since introduced measures to prevent such
a thing from happening again.
Conservatives also lost these Wisconsin Supreme Court case in 2002 seeking to prevent
unelected public health officials from ordering public health mandates without the approval
of local officials.
Again, these same kind of things, right?
Everson-21 vetoed a bill that would abandon local public health orders from closing or
limiting gatherings in places of worship.
In his veto message, Evers said he objected to the measure's intent to take away existing
tools available to state and local public health officials to combat COVID-19.
Now, of course, unlike bills, the governor can at veto constitutional amendments, such
measures must pass to successive legislative sessions before voters have the final say.
If enacted, such changes can only be reversed through the same amendment process or by a court
order.
Some conservative groups suppress the legislation to pursue more constitutional amendments
to an act or preserve legislation after the Wisconsin Supreme Court shifted to a liberal
majority for the first time in more than a decade.
And while they can't be vetoed, constitutional amendments can be challenged in court, which
would put the proposals before the same liberal Supreme Court majority that conservatives
are trying to avoid.
Another proposed amendment working its way through the legislation would bar the state
from receiving private funds to help administer elections.
Again, if we properly funded our elections, we wouldn't have to worry about taking in private
money to fund elections.
I'm totally down with that.
I want billionaires going to their pockets to help local communities run elections.
We should be paying for that.
It should be easy.
It should be open.
It should be fair and transparent for everyone regardless of the cost.
But of course, they're very mad about that.
Remember the history on this.
Republicans proposed it in response to private election grants provided to cities in 2020
by the Chicago-based Center for Tech and Civic Life.
You know, the Zuckerbucks, as they say.
They say they were used to unfairly increase turnout in democratic strongholds of Milwaukee,
Madison, Green Bay, Kenosha, and Racine.
So they want to limit the ability for people to donate their money to help fund elections.
Of course, we know Republicans love it when people don't show up to vote.
That generally helps them.
Another would amend the state constitution provision allowing that every United States citizen
18 or older who is the resident of an election district in the state is a qualified elector
of that district.
Two states that only United States citizen could vote in the district, the measures meant
to head off initiatives in other states to allow non-citizens to vote in some local elections.
So the Republicans, knowing they can't get these kinds of bills passed because Governor
Evers probably would not sign them, are now going directly to the people to make your
to make your opinion.
What do you think?
What do people decide the Republicans would tell you?
But the church stuff folks, I mean, you know, as the resident atheist on the panel, you
know, I grew up in a Catholic family.
I was baptized, never confirmed, but parents never really, you know, they tried to read
the Bible once in a while, never really, really stuck.
I remember some really, you know, some phases they went through when I was a child watching
some really weird movies about the rapture.
I mean, things that stick with you, talk about grooming, you know what I mean?
Talk about, talk about impacting the kid.
I remember these movies from when I was like four to six years old, they had that kind
of an impact on me.
I mean, when you're talking about, you know, eternal damnation, you don't think that impacts
children?
I mean, come on people.
And so to put forth a legislative, I'm sorry, a constitutional amendment, an effort to
just give churches the past that you got out, you got to endemic going on.
Up doesn't matter where church, we don't have to abide and to suggest as the Republican
legislator did, prior to the vote that, ah, don't worry about it, they'll do the right
thing.
Really, they'll do the right thing.
I mean, is that what you believe if everyone did the right thing, we wouldn't need laws,
right?
We wouldn't need constitutional amendments, right?
We wouldn't want to quote the right thing.
And this whole religious freedom thing in these articles all over the place, over the
last several days, regarding the Christian nationalism.
We saw the Nashville Nazis, right?
We saw those folks marching last week and think kind of crew that was in Madison not
so long ago, but to have, you know, folks embrace this Christian nationalism, to have
special rules carved out for religious organizations that don't have to abide by any sort
of, you know, order from, from a legislature or from health officials, oh my God, there's
a pandemic going on.
You guys really shouldn't, can't, you can't do it, you can't go worship, can't do it.
No, no, we want to, because that's our religious freedom.
So you're going to put yourself and your congregation and your friends and neighbors
in danger, so you can go, what, pray in public, and then the Bible says something about
praying and private, I don't know, and above and beyond that, all the rules we already
give a pass for the religious organizations, are you kidding me?
Come on, pay some property taxes, people, they get a pass, man, I lived in Whitefish Bay,
a little suburb north of Milwaukee for a long time, big, big, big Catholic church with
a, with a school next to it, beautiful building, really, it's like, it's like two city blocks,
no taxes.
Oh, they get a pass, you get a pass for all taxes, if you, if you, if you confess your
sins, well, the, the priest can, doesn't have to relay that information to the authorities.
And of course, get involved in any, you know, child molestation, well, that's, we'll handle
that internally.
I'm about done with all this religious freedom thing, how about everyone works under the
same rules?
How about that?
That's, that's equality, that's freedom, when we all got to pay the property taxes, when
we all have to abide by the local health order, you don't get a pass because you happen
to believe in some mythical creature.
Oh, you have the devil's advocates, it goes beyond that, it goes on to this in vitro
fertilization, it goes on to the abortion, this is their basis for everything, their Christian
nationalism, we'll get some more of it, your calls are welcome as well, 844-967-2789.
The devil's advocates, radio, porn, masking, women, everywhere.
Here we are, that's all for the 40 break, thank you so much for listening to the devil's
advocates, radio, so we're going to go to the phones in just a moment, 844-967-2789.
Of course, stick around Michelle Velasquez, director of legal advocacy and services from Wisconsin,
a plan period of Wisconsin going to join us at the bottom of the hour.
But I'm in ranting a little bit here, the exceptions and the belief system, and what the
religious folks want, they want to pass on all sorts of things, they want to force their
belief down my vitro, I mean, you can think what you want, and we all have the right to
believe what we want, and you know what, we're all going to find out sooner or later.
You know, we all came from the same place, we're all going to the same place, that's my
belief.
And I don't believe any of it, you know, today's religion to me is tomorrow's mythology,
you know what I'm saying?
But I guarantee you somebody died at the altar of Thor, for defending or wanting to overtake
or whatever the case is, all the religions, all the gods, all the things, and all the world
over all eternity, we're just happening to be in the one.
And as a non-believer, everyone that believes if whether you're a Christian or a Muslim
or a Buddhist or Hindu, whatever your case is, you know, your normal, quote unquote religion,
well, you probably don't believe other ones, but we're all non-believers to some degree,
I just take mine, you know, one religion further, you know, the one that you perhaps believe
in.
Well, that's fine.
We all got to do what we got to do to get through the day.
And if you want to believe in that and you want to worship or not hurt anybody, and it
makes you feel good, it gives you a sense of community, knock yourself out.
What do you start taking those beliefs and translating them into constitutional amendments,
translating them into laws, which would dictate, you know, how I could to live my life,
and which it would limit my freedoms, well, then I have some problems with that.
So that's the underlying theme here, and I know, I try not to harp on it too much.
Who wants to hear the atheists all the time?
You know, in crudies of claims these will believe, probably, if he says these will believe,
come on.
You know what I mean?
But it's an underlying theme for lots and lots and lots of these issues that we deal with
on a regular basis, and certainly historically as well.
And let's go to this one, the ABC News reporting, President Joe Biden Thursday blasted the
Alabama Supreme Court ruling that said frozen embryos are considered children in the state.
Biden said it was outrageous and unacceptable.
You know how I know embryos are children?
Because if I took my kid and put them in the freezer, they'd die.
Here's what President said today in 2024 in America, women are being turned away from
emergency rooms and forced to travel hundreds of miles for healthcare, while doctors for
your prosecution for providing an abortion.
And now a court in Alabama has put access to some fertility treatments at risk for families
for desperately trying to get pregnant, the disregard for women's ability to make these
decisions for themselves and their families is outrageous and unacceptable.
As ABC News goes on to write on Tuesday, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that unborn children
are children, quote unquote, without exception, based on developmental stage, physical location
or any other ancillary characteristics.
The unprecedented decision could impact the future of in virtual fertilization treatments
in the state, and several IVF providers have paused parts of their care to patients or
fear of legal risks.
Biden said the court's decisions is a direct result of the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
Biden said he will work to restore Roe v. Wade, however, with a divided Congress, it could
be challenging.
Biden also said this.
My message is, the vice president and I are fighting for your rights.
We're fighting for the freedom of women for families and for doctors who care for these
women.
And we won't stop until we restore the protections of Roe v. Wade and federal law for all women
in every state.
Biden's campaign directly blamed former president, Donald Trump for the Alabama court,
really saying it was only possible because Donald Trump's Supreme Court justices overturned
Roe v. Wade.
Trump appointed three conservative justices while he was president.
Another quote here, this is from Julia Chavez Rodriguez, the Biden Harris campaign manager,
quote.
Across the nation, mega Republicans are inserting themselves into the most personal decisions
a family can make.
From contraception to IVF, with their latest attack and reproductive freedom, the so-called
pro-life Republicans are preventing loving couples from growing their families.
If Donald Trump is elected, there is no question.
He will impose his extreme anti-freedom agenda on the entire country.
Vice President Kamala Harris denounced the court's decision.
The decision is outrageous.
It is already robbing women of the freedom to decide when and how to build a family.
Harris wrote that Biden would sign a bill reinstating the protection of Roe v. Wade.
If Democrats win majorities in Congress, those such legislation would need 60 votes in
the Senate.
Trump hasn't apparently weighed in on the Alabama court ruling or Biden's comments.
Congressional Republicans have been noticeably quiet on that topic too.
Well, on a side note, my understanding is as well, Donald Trump apparently behind closed
doors is down for a 16-week abortion ban, although he's very angry that that got out.
On Nikki Haley, Trump's opponent in the Republican primary said Wednesday that she
had graced the court ruling, telling NBC News that embryos, to me, are babies.
Embrials are not babies.
Babies are babies.
Embrials are embryos.
Zygots, cells, sperm, eggs, I mean, really, this is what we're going to do.
And what is the basis for all of this?
What is it?
Religion.
You can't argue the science, so you've got to argue the supernatural.
You've got to base it, and my religious freedom says this.
Well, you know what?
If you don't want to have IVF, don't have it.
You want to have an abortion?
Don't do it.
You don't want to have gay sex.
Don't engage.
You know what I mean?
You don't have to do these things.
Why is it?
Why do you think that you get to take whatever belief that you concocted, that you were
drilled into your head as a kid or whatever you felt to believe in, but forced it on everybody
else?
I'm not forcing my atheism upon you.
I'm giving you my point of view.
I would appreciate it if you kept your beliefs as your point of view and not try to litigate
it, not try to make it constitutional, or not try to get it passed into law, 844-967-2789,
a couple of college before we get to Michelle Velasquez in LA Tom.
You're up.
Happy Thursday, Tom.
What have you got for us?
Hey, buddy.
First off, the people ultimately are the government, and we must never forget it.
Corporations are not the government.
Second, Joe Biden actually gave a lot of students that relief today, so I hope everyone
knows that.
Another thing that Joe Biden has done for we, the people.
Third, I am so sick of these people.
They don't even know what Christianity is.
It really saddens me that they're actually used Christ's name, I would say, in vain, by
calling them self-Christian nationalists, because the Christians, the Christ, I'm not sure
I knew.
The one that I look at as my role model, I don't even know if he was, I think we're all
sons of God or whatever, but he said, take care of my sheep.
We all are sheep, and the shepherd is supposed to take care of the sheep.
As far as I'm concerned, all of these people that are in these right wing churches and
all of these priests, and everybody like that that actually disobey, you know, taking care
of the sheep.
There's a special place in the hell for these people.
Well, Tom, all they got to do is ask for forgiveness, and there it is.
Thanks for calling us.
Squeeze one more in, Jim from Madison, can give you about 60 seconds, Jim, what do you
got?
Well, they generated the embryos from men doing something to themselves in order to create
the embryos.
Are the guys that did that or they just as guilty, you know, I mean, how far are you going
to take it?
You're going to prosecute young boys for exploring themselves, I mean, this is freaking
ridiculous.
I know, I have no masturbation.
Every sperm is sacred, Jim, and then you're guilty of killing millions of people, even if
it's a half person, right?
There's a lot of people when you add up all the haves of millions of sperm.
It's just absolutely ridiculous, and we need to call it out.
And again, I don't want to be disrespectful folks, enjoy what you want, believe what you
want.
But if you're going to put it on me, you better be ready for some pushback.
Michelle Velasquez, she is the director of Legal Advocacy and Services for Plant
Pain in the Double Wisconsin.
She's coming up next, stick around.
The devil's advocates tackling the issues you're not allowed to talk about at the dinner
table.
Thank you for listening to the devil's advocates radio show super excited to introduce
Michelle Velasquez, she is the director of Legal Advocacy and Services for Plant Pain
in the Double Wisconsin.
Michelle, welcome to the devil's advocates radio show.
Thanks so much for having me.
That is our pleasure.
Thank you for joining us.
Big news.
I saw it in the AP Plant Parenthood asking the state Supreme Court to overturn what 174
year old state law that conservatives have interpreted as an abortion ban.
I got a few questions on this, Michelle, but let's start with the actual filing.
What are we trying to do here and what's the process?
Sure.
So today, Plant Parenthood of Wisconsin filed a petition for original action, which means
we are asking the Supreme Court to take jurisdiction of this case.
And the questions that are being presented to the court really involve interpretation
of our state constitution.
We are asking the court to interpret Article 1, Section 1, which guarantees all persons
born the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
And we are asking the court to interpret among those rights that are inherent, the right
to bodily autonomy, the right to self-determination, which of course includes the right to choose
when and if to become apparent.
And in that, the right to choose an abortion and the right of providers to provide that
care.
And how about the timing, why now?
What is it about the circumstances and this traffic now that makes this appropriate time
to do the filing?
Sure.
So when Roe was overturned back in the summer of 2022, we always knew sort of the long-term
goal would be to obtain an interpretation of our state constitution that solidified
this right, that made it clear that Wisconsinites have this right.
And in the early days, post-dobbs, the Attorney General filed his lawsuit.
That case was sort of in its infancy at that time.
Now that case has a final decision from the Dane County Circuit Court.
The respondent in that case, District Attorney Urmanski from Shavoygan filed just a couple
days ago a petition to bypass the Court of Appeals and is asking the Supreme Court of
the State to take that case.
And so really the timing is now, so for the court to answer not just the questions presented
in the call case, but really to reach this ultimate question about what protections are
afforded under our state constitution.
And that was kind of my question, Michelle.
These are little slightly different cases.
The call case, as already as mentioned, I said that this does not apply, this is not about
abortion.
This is infanticide.
But your position, or at least plain parent of Wisconsin, wants to clarify that infanticide
portion of it?
Is that what you're telling me?
No, so really what we're asking the Court to do is examine 9404, which the Dane County
Circuit Court, as you mentioned, has already said that doesn't apply to abortion.
That applies to fetus side only.
But District Attorney Urmanski has continued to move forward with his theory of the
case, which is that 9404 applies to abortion.
And that when Roe was overturned, it reinvigorated that force of law of that statute.
And so we are basically saying to the Court, even if that statute does apply to abortion,
it could not stand because it is unconstitutionally infringes upon these inherent rights that all
Wisconsinites have.
What's your listening to the devil's advocates radio show Michelle Balasquez, the director
of Legal Advocacy and Services for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin?
Michelle, so as far as abortion providers are concerned, my understanding Planned Parenthood
is providing the health care as needed, but other hospitals are not because of the issue
of the concerns of the legality that we stand in right now.
What's your impression of how things are looking in that regard?
Yeah, so Planned Parenthood Resume Services back in September in our Milwaukee Health
Center and our Madison Health Center.
And then in December, we resumed abortion care at our Sheboygan Health Center.
I can't speak specifically to what other hospitals or health systems are doing.
What I can say is that ever since Roe was overturned, there has been a lot of confusion.
I think around the state amongst patients and providers about what sort of the extent
of care looks like that they're able to provide.
And even though right now we're able to provide care because the Dane County Circuit Court
said this a lot actually doesn't even apply to abortion, the future of abortion access
is really sort of uncertain until I think we have some constitutional guardrails that
let us know, hey, this right is protected.
The government can't just come in and restrict this law or restrict this access to this
important health care.
And I get some guardrails for the legislature, not just now, but the legislature is in
the future about what they can and can't restrict when it comes to abortion care.
Michelle and a similar issue, the in vitro fertilization, the Alabama Supreme Court has now
declared that embryos are children and it's along the same lines, it's reproductive
care, it's about women choosing what to do with their bodies and when to engage and
when to have families and engage with their doctors as they see fit.
So to me, it's kind of along the same vein, what's your sense on that Alabama ruling
and what do you think that's going to go on?
So absolutely, in vitro fertilization is part of the full scope of sexual and reproductive
health care.
It is a medical process that a lot of people choose to pursue in order to have families.
I don't know where that case is, how did I would imagine that folks will be appealing
and it might make its way all the way up to who knows if it will make its way to the
Supreme Court or if it's going to head to the federal circuit courts.
But that is the exact, I think, kind of thing that we will be seeing more of around the
country as these sort of battles and questions about rights to abortion, which is no longer
protected by the federal constitution becomes more and more of a state issue.
And so that is why it is extremely important in our view for the Wisconsin Supreme Court
to have a word on whether or not our state constitution protects the right to access
that health care.
And as we've seen with this particular ruling, it seems that the conservatives are pushing,
pushing, pushing and contraception could be next, depending on how they define it and
what they decide may or may be acceptable for us or not acceptable for us.
Have we seen any movement on efforts to try to ban certain kinds of contraception here
in the state?
I, not to my knowledge in this state, I think that is certainly something that's on the
table in other states and, you know, the overturning of Roe was a 50-year-long strategy
on the part of the anti-movement.
And contraception restrictions is something that's absolutely on the table for folks.
And again, we're seeing that in other states.
And that's why the questions presented in our petition today really are about these
inherent rights to self-determination and bodily autonomy, which would then, you know, also
include the right to contraception.
And Roe was overturned in the DAB's decision, Justice Thomas called into question some
of the other types of rights that were sort of rooted in that right to privacy, one, you
know, one of which was the right to contraception.
Executive Director of Wisconsin right to life in the AP news article that I saw is basically
accusing Planned Parenthood of disregarding the lives of the unborn to quote for the
sake of their bottom line.
Michelle, what's your response for that?
You know, I think that this petition today really speaks for itself.
And this is about valuing the rights of all people in this state, particularly people
who can become pregnant, to choose the path in life that they see fit for them.
Our Constitution clearly states that all people are born equally free and have these inherent
all people born have these inherent rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
And so really at the core of this petition is our deeply held value that people should
have the ability to make these deeply personal decisions for themselves in consultation with
whomever in their life they'd like to be in consult with, including their doctor.
Michelle, you talk about the attacks on Roe v. Wade, and this has been a 50-year strategy,
as you mentioned.
And certainly the defense of Roe v. Wade and the appers to continue to allow women to make
their own health care decisions very important, but on the losing side at this point.
Of course, this is another election year.
What is Planned Parenthood?
I know you have different political portions and advocacy portions, what not, but what
is Planned Parenthood doing?
How can you engage with other folks on this topic to try to keep this at the top of
the list of people's minds as they go into vote, decide who they want to represent them
in government?
Yeah, so your right Planned Parenthood has an advocacy arm called Planned Parenthood Advocates
of Wisconsin.
So people who are interested in knowing what Planned Parenthood is doing in electoral politics
work, in civic engagement, in community organizing, those are all available, all that information
is available at the Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin website.
They are engaged with communities all year round on this issue.
And so, for example, when there's new legislation, there's a lot of education around that.
There's sometimes some grass roots lobbying, direct lobbying, things like that.
So if people are interested in that end of things, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin
is the website to check out.
Michelle Bolasco was Director of Legal Advocacy and Services for the Planned Parenthood
of Wisconsin.
Okay, so this petition was filed.
What's your expectation?
What's the timeline?
Where are the requirements?
And what are you hoping for, as far as actually getting some decision made on it?
Sure, so this is a petition that's just saying the court basically, we think you should take
this case and this is, you know, it outlines our argument.
The court could deny the petition and not grant our motion essentially to hear the case.
The court could also ask for responses from the respondents or defendants in the case.
They would have a certain period of time in which to do that.
And then the court would make a decision about hearing the case.
That there isn't really a deadline for the court to do that.
So I would expect it to be several weeks, if not a couple of months before we hear anything.
If the court does take the case, then we'll know when our briefs are due, we'll have
our argument schedule and then ultimately a decision.
We believe in our arguments wholeheartedly.
We think our state constitution compels the result we're asking for, which is a state
constitutional right or a state constitutional protection for abortion care.
And so we'll have to see what the court decides.
But if the court doesn't take the case, the fight, you know, the legal fight isn't over.
We'll explore other avenues at that point.
Michelle, I'm not clear how this works.
I mean, obviously, the Shibuya County DA, Jill or Mansky file an appeal to that one case.
Would they combine these?
I mean, there's obviously related cases.
How do you see that playing out in the best case scenario?
Yeah, so the court could absolutely sort of join these cases together as sort of companions
to one another and hear them at similar times.
So that would be a decision for the court.
But that's certainly something the court could decide makes the most sense.
Excellent.
Michelle, appreciate you joining us, Michelle.
Balask was director of legal advocacy and services at Wisconsin, a Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin.
Michelle, people want to find more about what's going on.
More about these legal breaks and other, again, there's this side, the legal of it.
There's advocacy on the other side, but you're doing great work holding up, holding the
line, standing up for women's rights here in the state of Wisconsin.
Works they find more information if they want to get involved.
So they can find us on Facebook, Instagram, either of the websites, either the ppwi.org or
ppwi.org, we'll take them to all things Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin.
Excellent.
Michelle, the last quest, director of legal advocacy and services.
Thank you so much for joining the devil's advocates, please keep us informed, come around
anytime you want.
We'll let the people know the work that you're doing to help the people of Wisconsin, thank
you so much.
Thank you.
Have a great afternoon.
Thank you, Michelle.
We have the devil's advocates coming back.
Your phone calls at 844-967-2789, and of course, James Santel, who's the former U.S. attorney
friend of ours.
Oh, it's an acidic meeting out where he's going to join us in the five o'clock epi hour.
Click around.
We'll be right back.
On the top of the hour, we can't hear him yet.
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Take the devil's with you everywhere.
You go, want to thank Michelle Velasquez, director of legal advocacy and services over
at the Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, and Republicans, they just keep on trying to keep
on trying.
Just briefly on here, from the AP article on this topic, Planned Parenthood seeking a broad
ruling, arguing that the Wisconsin's constitution declaration that people have a right to life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness means women have a right to control their own bodies.
The petition goes on to argue that the phrase grants abortion providers the right to practice
and means all people have equal rights to make their own medical decisions.
The fact that we even have to have this argument that the people have right to make their
own medical decisions, like, are you kidding me, of course, they do, at least in my world,
if you're not in some sort of religious, fanatical, Christian nationalist organization, where
what, you rely everything on what you interpret the Bible to be, and that's what we heard
from Megan Mike Johnson, right, the speaker of the house, the fifth guy they finally got
to, if you want to know his worldview, just read the Bible, and of course, what about
the contradictions in your Bible?
Very concerned about the gay marriage, right, man, laying with another man, Leviticus,
but, you know, perhaps less concerned about the mixing of the wolves and the linens also
in Leviticus.
Very, perhaps less concerned about, you know, the, all you can eat at Red Lobster, apparently
Red Lobster, stop on the all you can eat lobster because they're losing money, well, how
many of those folks are gutting jamming on that lobster when you're not supposed to eat
shellfish, right?
Isn't it also in the Bible?
Pretty sure.
Slavery was condoned in the Bible, right, and didn't, and our history had lots of, lots
of folks, like, oh, we had slaves in the Bible, so we can have slaves, and that makes
total sense, right?
I mean, this is the kind of thing that we have to deal with, and that's why, that's why.
It's got to be discounted.
You got to, you know, whatever a person's faith is, if you're going to come to the table
and talk about humanity and how we're going to self-govern, you got to leave it at the
door, because everybody's going to have their own interpretation of a particular faith,
or very much their own faith, hell, somebody just created out a whole plot, I'm not sure
about Scientology, you know, I don't know, man.
But it seems like that was something a little more recent.
Now, would you traditional, if you're a 1,000-year-old religion, do you think that Scientology's
a real religion?
Well, how would you like it?
If you don't have a particular religion, you perhaps believe it's not a religion, something
just made up by man.
Well, some of those folks get power, and they start implementing and imposing, there
will upon you other religious people probably wouldn't like that too much, right?
I mean, a pretty sure war's violence has been the cause of many of these things, right,
religion.
So, if you want to have a real conversation with real people that recognize that we all
breathe there, we all bleed red, I mean, these are the basics, folks, I think it's important
to whatever your religious ideological and belief, you leave that at the door, if you want
to use that to influence your own personal behavior, knock yourself out, not suggesting
that you can't do that, but when we have, and when we see these, these, these articles
and efforts from, from these white Christian nationalists, and what they want to do, what
they want to impose, what they're trying to do here in this country, it's, it's very scary,
at least to me, to the non-believer, it's very scary, and we're going to have time to
get into a whole lot of it, but I'm just going to throw this one out there, because, again,
folks, this is all related, it's all related, and it's hard, it's hard to address, it's
hard to talk about it, well, you're not supposed to tell what, what, sex drugs are not going
on, you're not supposed to talk about religion at the dinner table, you're not supposed to
talk about politics at the dinner table, well, really, what are we talking about?
I mean, I love sports as much as anybody else, and the weather is the weather, but these
are the fundamental basic thoughts and conversations of our time, and we're taught, quote, unquote,
we're supposed to, no, address these very gingerly, and certainly not at the dinner table.
Well, yes, at the dinner table, with people that you trust, and people that you're dining
with, you know, when you're eating together, there's something, something said, I know the
Italian, and we love to go eat together, it brings people together, food, I worship food,
you know, drink, food and drink, let's worship those things, that's what brings us together,
doesn't divide us, but quickly, a Trump allies prepare to infuse Christian
nationalism in a second administration, spearheading the effort is Russell bot, the president
of the center for renewing America, part of a conservative consortium preparing for
Trump's return to power.
Oh, man, I can't wait, we'll get into it, but let's say some calls, first of all, people
wait in eight, four, four, nine, six, seven, two, seven, eight, nine, Cindy from Apple
Town, you are welcome, Cindy, of course, hello, Cindy, oh, I'm sorry, I missed you,
yeah, I just wanted to teach quickly, and I didn't get the whole conversation, but I
got the just a bit where the Christians now want to control sperm and make sperm and human
blah, blah, blah, and you know, I'm just thinking, now that it's the second men, now that
the right wing is going to start telling men what they can and can't do with their
bottom bodies, then I think it's things are going to really change because I just think
where were men with the abortion issue, because didn't they think they might be the next
ones on the chopping block?
I would think, but at this point, you know, Cindy's long as men cannot give birth, if
men could give birth, Cindy, this wouldn't even be an issue, you know what I mean, I don't
believe it for a minute, it's, it's there, and again, it's their religious beliefs, because
it's not a medical belief behind this, this is all a religious belief being imposed upon
other people.
And I just, it's, it's, it's, it's, I struggle with it, Cindy, because I understand
people that wouldn't don't want to have an abortion, it's a terrible thing, and I would
agree, I think, man, anyone who's had an abortion, Cindy, if a woman has been through that,
it's got to be a tough decision to make, no doubt, and it sticks with you throughout
your entire life, I'm sure of it.
So that's up for the, the woman to decide, it's not up for a man in, in, in, in Madison,
or in Washington, DC, to decide what you Cindy need to do with your body based on their
own personal, private, religious beliefs.
Absolutely.
Right, honestly, thank you for the call.
Karina will get you in, you got 45 seconds, Karina, what do you got for us?
I want to say, hi, and I want to say, the key word is belief, this is the key word,
belief, this is not a fact.
You cannot rule government and produce a, a law on the base of a belief.
Amen, sister, love it.
Thanks for calling, Karina.
Have a great weekend.
Folks, we are the Devils Advocates, a happier, happier, we're coming up next James Santel
former U.S. Attorney, going to join us and get into the weeds on all the shenanigans
with the Trump cases and the impeachment, yada yada, you know the deal, Jim is up next,
stick around.
