'Today is Roe, is it contraception tomorrow?': US Senate candidates say voting matters now more than ever
WISCONSIN (CBS 58) -- Friday's Supreme Court ruling was the topic of discussion at a roundtable event featuring candidates running in Wisconsin's Democratic U.S. Senate primary.
A handful of candidates gathered Friday, June 24 at Cactus Club, and the overturning of Roe v. Wade dominated the discussion.
"This is an incredibly frustrating day, all our rights are under attack," said Lt. Governor Mandela Barnes of Wisconsin.
For Brooke Skidmore, Friday's decision emphasized the importance of voting.
"I have learned that my vote is basically the only thing I have left, to try to utilize that, not only to try to get my rights back but for my daughters," said Skidmore.
State Treasurer and Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Sarah Godlewski didn't attend the event on Friday morning but said in an interview that it should not be up to politicians to decide what women can do with their reproductive health.
"Everybody deserves access to make those decisions between them and their doctor, not politicians like Ron Johnson," said Godlewski.
Incumbent Republican U.S Senator Ron Johnson released a statement saying in-part, "Today is a victory for life and for those who have fought for decades to protect the unborn."
"Seventy percent of people in the state of Wisconsin agree that Roe v. Wade should be the law of the land, and we have this backwards Supreme Court that has taken us to the dark ages," said Lt. Governor Barnes.
Barnes said taking away the right of choice can threaten other rights we currently have.
"Today is Roe, is it contraception tomorrow? Is it the rights for gay people next? It's always voting rights," said Lt. Governor Barnes.
The candidates said if we want to see the majority represented in the highest forms of government, getting out to vote is crucial.
"We've got to make sure that we vote in this election, not in elections four years from now, not just thinking about the next presidential, we have to vote in these elections today," said U.S Senate candidate Alex Lasry.