Ever since this summer's U.S. Supreme Court ruling to overturn the historic Roe v. Wade decision on abortion rights, it has been a key issue in several local races including the U.S. Senate race between Democrat Mandela Barnes and Republican Ron Johnson.
"In a tweet, Barnes claimed Ron Johnson just came out in favor of a federal abortion ban. But the Barnes campaign cannot point to anything new about Johnson's position, much less anything new in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade," said Greg Borowski with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
PolitiFact Wisconsin says the two-term senator's position has pretty much been consistent through the years.
"He (Sen. Johnson) says the state should ultimately decide the matter determining where to balance the rights of the unborn and the rights of the mother at the same time, for that decade, he has supported various bills that would put that demarcation line at 20 weeks of pregnancy, barring most abortions past that point," Borowski said.
Johnson believes it is a state issue and he also knows it could become a federal issue in the future, but PolitiFact Wisconsin says that doesn't equate to a federal abortion ban.
"Yes, Johnson wants limits on abortion and has made clear the federal government may ultimately have a role in deciding the matter," said Borowski. "But Barnes obscures that with his language, including suggesting Johnson has changed his views and taken a new approach in the wake of the court ruling."