As Donald Trump Tries to Walk Back Extremist Comments on Abortion, Rebecca Bradley Stands By Hers

MADISON, Wis. — Donald Trump, Republican Presidential nomination front runner, is quickly backing away from the extreme position he took in a media interview that women ought to be punished for having an abortion. Meanwhile, State Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley has refused to disavow her controversial writings on the topic in which she compared abortion to the Holocaust, equated birth control with murder and called for changing state law to let pharmacists refuse to fill a woman’s birth control prescription written by a doctor.

“Outspoken, raging misogynist Donald Trump recognized he crossed a line and is backpedaling from his wildly extremist statements on women’s health,” commented One Wisconsin Now Research Director Jenni Dye. “It speaks volumes about the extremism of Rebecca Bradley that she continues to stand by her writing comparing abortion to the Holocaust and views that birth control is equivalent to murder.”

In a media interview, Trump called for punishment for women who get an abortion. Within hours after his outrageous comments became public, the frontrunner in the race for the GOP presidential nomination issued a statement reversing his position.

Meanwhile Rebecca Bradley has made no effort to moderate her longstanding, extreme positions on contraception or abortion. In 2006, Bradley wrote a column in which she equated birth control with murder and advocated for a state law to allow pharmacists to refuse to fill a woman’s prescription for birth control that has been written by a doctor. When questioned by the media, Bradley through a spokesperson refused to comment on, or disavow, the radical views she expressed.

Among the vile, hate filled writings of her college years, uncovered by One Wisconsin Now, was an article in which she compared abortion to the Holocaust. After the revelation, Bradley fielded questions from reporters, including at least three questions specifically asking about her comparison of abortion to the Holocaust. When asked “You’ve apologized to the gay community, will you apologize to the Jewish community for using that Holocaust reference?” Bradley’s response was to turn her back and walk away, shielded by a campaign staffer.

According to the Milwaukee Jewish Federation website, Rebecca Bradley also abruptly cancelled a previously-scheduled appearance at a Latino-Jewish Alliance candidate forum.

Dye noted that Bradley has been endorsed by anti-abortion activists in her campaign for the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The right-wing group that led lobbying efforts to cut funding for women’s access to birth control and comprehensive reproductive health care services is running tens of thousands of dollars worth of radio ads on Bradley’s behalf. And, Gov. Scott Walker, who has appointed Bradley as a judge an unprecedented three times in just three years, himself previously authored the very legislation to deny women access to birth control that Bradley endorsed in her 2006 column.

She concluded, “Rebecca Bradley is standing by her outrageous statements and radical positions that birth control is murder and women ought to be denied access to it. She may be even more extreme than Donald Trump, and is most certainly dangerous to the health of Wisconsin women and their families.”