Throughout the country, we’ve seen a staggering number of anti-abortion bills being passed. In the past few weeks, a package of anti-abortion bills was passed by the state senate. These bills are an attack on the reproductive rights of Wisconsinites. 

Abortion is a right, and throughout pregnancy, a person’s health and well-being— not political agendas or interference — should guide important medical decisions. When someone has made the decision to have an abortion, no one should get in their way, especially politicians.

This package of bills would not only decrease funding to providers who offer abortion services but also require providers to give misleading and dangerous information to people who choose to get an abortion. These laws force health care providers to lie to patients about the “reversibility” of medication abortion, force people to go to multiple appointments, and require patients to undergo medically unnecessary and sometimes invasive procedures. 

Unfortunately, this is a growing trend. This year, the United States saw the highest number of abortion restrictions enacted, according to the Guttmacher Institute.

With the balance of the Supreme Court now up in the air regarding abortion rights, we face the threat of abortion care being dismantled even more aggressively and systematically throughout the country.

While Gov. Tony Evers will likely veto these anti-abortion bills this time around, it is important to take notice and stand up against the bills. In the future, another state legislature and governor could pass even more restrictive anti-abortion legislation.

The decision about whether, when, or how to become a parent is one of the most important life decisions we make. Wisconsinites should be able to do so without barriers and political interference and free from fear or the policing of our bodies.

We sued the City of Milwaukee to demand unbiased and constitutional policing by the Milwaukee Police Department. According to a recent report, we see that Black and Latinx Milwaukeeans continue to be stopped and frisked at alarming, worsening rates.

We're holding Milwaukee accountable for the lack of progress made.

One of the ways we are doing that is by demanding strong leadership at the Milwaukee Police Department. The police chief is the cornerstone of a police department, providing the leadership needed to ensure that every police officer is committed to constitutional, non-discriminatory policing.

For ten months, Jeffrey Norman has served as MPD police chief and spent years in senior MPD leadership before that. Multiple reports make clear there are serious problems that have come out under his watch. Yet, it is not clear he has taken any action to address the issues that exist.

The Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission is considering whether Norman should become the permanent chief. There's an opportunity for public input, and we need you to get involved.

Norman must tell Milwaukee residents exactly how he plans to address unconstitutional and biased policing in the Milwaukee Police Department and what he has done about these critical problems until now. The public must ask him these questions.

The FPC has scheduled two in-person events and one virtual event for the community to ask Norman the hard questions:

• Saturday, Oct. 23, 10 – 11:30 a.m. Silver Spring Neighborhood Center, 5460 N. 64th St., Milwaukee. Register today.
• Thursday, Oct. 28, 6 – 7 p.m. Virtually. Register today. 
• Saturday, Oct. 30, 10 – 11:30 a.m. Anodyne Coffee Roasting Co., 224 W. Bruce St., Milwaukee. Register today. 

You can also send any comments or questions to the FPC commission at fpc@milwaukee.gov or send a comment via our message action form.

Make your voice heard. Demand unbiased and lawful policing in Milwaukee.