Tom Tiffany supported advancing extreme abortion ban in Congress

Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany, who is now a candidate for Wisconsin governor, backed a total abortion ban with no exceptions for rape, incest, or the life of the mother.

Tiffany has represented Wisconsin’s 7th District since 2021. He has been endorsed by multiple anti-choice groups, including Wisconsin Right to Life and Turning Point USA.

In 2023, as a member of Congress’ Republican Study Committee, Tiffany co-authored a budget proposal for fiscal year 2024 that included an endorsement of the Life at Conception Act, a bill that would extend personhood rights to fetuses and embryos.

The proposed change would ban abortion nationwide and could make getting an abortion legally tantamount to committing murder. Advocates have warned that both abortion patients and doctors could face criminal charges if the bill becomes law.

Because the Life at Conception Act is on the federal level, it would also override any state laws governing abortion access. Voters in 14 states have approved ballot measures to protect or expand abortion rights since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.

The bill may also jeopardize access to in vitro fertilization and other fertility treatments.

The vice president of the anti-abortion Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America group celebrated the proposed budget that Tiffany backed, calling it “the strongest pro-life budget yet.” Students for Life Action, another anti-abortion group, said it would advance “the codification of measures that would permanently and reliably protect innocent human life.”

The budget did not become law, but that did not stop the Republican Study Committee from endorsing the Life at Conception Act again in its 2025 and 2026 budget proposals.

Polling suggests that the vast majority of Wisconsinites support protecting abortion rights. Last year, after Tiffany launched his campaign for governor, he removed references to his anti-abortion record from his website.

In 2023, Tiffany cosponsored the Heartbeat Protection Act, which would ban abortions past 6-weeks’ gestation. Tiffany has not cosponsored the Life at Conception Act.

Tiffany is expected to win the Aug. 11 Republican primary for governor. His Democratic opponent will be chosen the same day.