Wisconsin Supreme Court judge-elect Susan Crawford rejected the “pro-choice” label while campaigning for her seat against conservative-backed judge Brad Schimel — but she has a long history as a strident defender of abortion that is sure to inform her decision making on the court.
Crawford, who has served as a Dane County Circuit Court judge since 2018, defeated Schimel on Tuesday in what ultimately became the most expensive state supreme court race ever. The win cemented liberals’ 4-3 majority on the court.
Two cases challenging a Wisconsin abortion ban law are currently pending before the state supreme court.
Asked during the race whether she would call herself “pro-choice,” Crawford told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that while she supposed the term was accurate, she doesn’t tend to self-identify as pro-choice because of its policy implications and the way its been politicized.
“I approach it more from a common sense, like what do women need to make sure that they’re safe and that their families are safe?” she said. “It’s about self-determination, it’s about being able to make your own choices for yourself.”
Before her time as a Dane County judge, Crawford worked as legal counsel for Democratic Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle and later became a partner at Pines Bach, a progressive Madison law firm that challenged several Republican-backed laws. Crawford herself represented Planned Parenthood in a pair of cases challenging limits on abortion.
Planned Parenthood says Crawford “successfully challenged state statutes that created undue burdens on individuals seeking reproductive health services, ensuring the rights of all Wisconsinites are protected.”
In one of those cases, Crawford worked alongside attorneys from Planned Parenthood and the ACLU Reproductive Rights Project to obtain a permanent injunction against a 2011 state law requiring physicians who provide abortion services to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of where those services are performed.
The ruling in that case was later cited in the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Whole Women’s Health et al. v. Hellerstedt et al., in which the Court struck down a similar law requiring admitting privileges at a nearby hospital for abortionists in Texas.
Meanwhile, on the campaign trail, Crawford called the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade “wrong” and noted in one of her campaign ads that she “fought for abortion rights.”
Crawford also said she was proud to have represented Planned Parenthood.
Her campaign website pointed to her time as a private practice attorney, when she says she “protected voting and workers’ rights, and represented Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin to defend access to reproductive health care.”
Crawford won endorsements from Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin, EMILYs List, and the state Democratic Party, along with several labor unions.
Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin celebrated Crawford’s victory with a statement on Tuesday.
“Tonight Wisconsin voters made clear their preference for the candidate who agrees with them on reproductive freedom,” president and CEO Tanya Atkinson said. “No matter what we look like or where we come from, most of us value our freedom to decide whether and when we start a family.”
“Justice-elect Susan Crawford’s victory demonstrates that a woman’s ability to make her own reproductive health care decisions matters to Wisconsin voters. Time and time again, voters have come together to protect reproductive freedom, and this is a moment to celebrate our collective power.”
Crawford will now serve a ten-year term after having defeated Schimel, a former prosecutor and former Republican state attorney general who now serves as a Waukesha County judge.
The Brennan Center for Justice at the NYU School of Law estimated the race had topped $90 million, in part thanks to $25 million in spending from Elon Musk, who backed Schimel.