by Sofia Resnick, Alabama Reflector
May 3, 2025

Thomas Lang and Jeff Davis — conservative Catholics from Wisconsin — did the unexpected on a recent Tuesday: They asked some of their conservative legislators to extend a social safety net for pregnant women.

Both men support local crisis pregnancy centers and groups opposed to abortion, and they typically oppose expanding public services. Davis said he’s always been a conservative spender, having grown up with a Depression-era father.

But after participating in a civic engagement program about abortion a year ago, both said their empathy for pregnant women is better informed.

“My wife was a great sounding board for me being more empathetic towards women, because she was a very empathetic woman, and I kind of lost a little bit of that when she passed away,” Davis said, noting it’s been two years. “I didn’t have her level of compassion, and this helped me, seriously, to be more compassionate, and not just to women who are having an abortion, but just people in general.”

One year ago, 14 people around Wisconsin, dubbed the Wisconsin 14, were recruited by the civic engagement nonprofit Builders (formerly known as Starts With Us) to try to find common ground on reproductive health policy despite their deep divisions on abortion. For most of the participants, as the emotionally grueling Citizen Solutions sessions would reveal, their beliefs are rooted in personal trauma.

A year later, several of the participants who had severe disagreements have come back together to fight for their first consensus solution: extending postpartum Medicaid.

While the Wisconsin 14 ultimately could not agree on a single abortion-related policy, they were united on five policy proposals to make it easier and safer to give birth. Several of the participants returned to the Capitol in Madison last month to lobby their state legislators to pass Assembly Bill 97/Senate Bill 23, which like one of their proposals, would extend Medicaid coverage for women from 60 days to 12 months after giving birth if they do not already qualify for the state’s Medicaid program. Under current law, pregnant individuals in Wisconsin are eligible for Medicaid at a higher income threshold than those who are not pregnant: 306% instead of 100% of the federal poverty level. But they can lose that coverage 60 days after giving birth if their income increases beyond the non-pregnant eligibility threshold.

Reproductive health experts have identified postpartum Medicaid extension as the first step to maternal health equity, as States Newsroom has reported. According to a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, more than 80% of pregnancy-related deaths nationwide are preventable, and almost one-third of pregnancy-related deaths occurred after delivery.

Wisconsin and Arkansas are currently the only states cutting off postpartum Medicaid after 60 days, despite these being largely popular policies.

“Last spring, 20,000 Wisconsinites from 70 counties across the state weighed in on the proposals during a public feedback period,” said Builders communications director Tori Larned in an email. “Nearly three-quarters (73%) of people favored extending Medicaid postpartum.”

This is the second year the proposal has been introduced in the legislature, and like last year it has received bipartisan support but severe opposition from House Speaker Robin Vos. The Republican has described the bill as an expansion of “welfare,” including last week, when the bill passed the Senate 32-1.

“My position has been fairly clear from the very beginning: I’ve never supported an expansion of welfare. I can’t imagine that I would ever support one,” Vos said at a press conference after the April 22 vote, according to the Wisconsin Examiner. “But we have to talk about it as a caucus.”

Vos’ office did not reply to a request for comment for this story.

In the past month, several among the Wisconsin 14 have lobbied their legislators in person, talked about the bill in public, and a few have or are currently writing op-eds. Larned told States Newsroom nearly every participant has called Vos’ office urging him to extend postpartum Medicaid to a full year. 

“[S]tagnation on this issue does not reflect the public will,” wrote Kateri Klingele Pinell and Kai Gardner Mishlove, two of the Wisconsin 14, who fundamentally disagreed on when abortion should be legal and accessible, in a recent Milwaukee Journal Sentinel op-ed. “Extended Medicaid coverage is crucial for the physical, emotional, and mental well-being of mothers and their children. Sixty days is insufficient to address the vast array of medical needs that arise during the postpartum period.”

They cited a 2024 Wisconsin Maternal Mortality Review Team report showing that between 2019 and 2020 the majority of pregnancy-related deaths were caused by cardiovascular conditions or hypertensive disorders or due to mental health conditions, including drug overdoses. They also noted that Black women and women from low-income households suffer worse maternal health outcomes. They cited an American Hospital Association report to argue that prolonging postpartum coverage would general cost savings.

They ended the op-ed addressing Vos directly.

“We have faith that Speaker Vos and his colleagues in the Assembly will answer our call,” they wrote. “Vos has already expressed his desire to, ‘protect life while ensuring women receive necessary medical care.’ The passage of this bill offers him the opportunity to properly represent his constituents.”

Klingele Pinell is a clinical mental health professional who opposes abortion, but believes in expanding public health services, especially as someone who says she has relied on them as a young single mom. Gardner Mishlove is a grief doula and the executive directive of Jewish Social Services in Madison, which she said provides short- and long-term case-management and advocacy to vulnerable populations.

“We need to reassure moms and families that they will not lose coverage during this crucial time,” Gardner Mishlove told States Newsroom. “Can you imagine deciding to maintain a pregnancy and then realizing that you’re going to lose your health insurance 60 days after? Being a new mom, there’s a lot to deal with, a lot to juggle, and if that’s one less thing for you to juggle so that you can make sure that you maintain connection to your healthcare provider, to your behavioral health provider, for the health and wellness not only of yourself but your family, then that’s a huge burden that’s lifted from that mother, from the family, from the health care system.”

Bridging the divide 

In mid-March, four of the Wisconsin 14 joined a lobbying event co-sponsored by Main Street Alliance, where they urged state lawmakers to pass the postpartum Medicaid extension, focusing on more reluctant Assembly and Senate Republicans.

Davis, the 77-year-old widower, said it felt out of his comfort zone just to drive from his farm to the Capitol and navigate traffic and parking, but he felt it was important to do.

“I just kind of thought that maybe my input, because of being pro-life and being for the bill, would carry some weight,” Davis told States Newsroom.

Davis and Lang said they didn’t initially appreciate how difficult it would be to move the needle with some of the Republican legislators, especially after learning how much extending postpartum Medicaid is likely to cost the state.

The state has projected that an additional 5,020 women would have coverage per month under the bill, costing an estimated $18.5 million, including $7.3 million in state general purpose revenue with the rest coming from the federal government. As the Wisconsin Examiner has reported, if Wisconsin joined other states that have accepted the full federal Medicaid expansion, the cost for the postpartum coverage would be reduced to $15.1 million in all funds including $5.2 million in general purpose revenue. However, under the Trump administration, the federal Medicaid program as a whole is under threat. 

“We’re talking a drop in the bucket,” Lang said. “We’re talking about a small annual average number of pregnant women in Wisconsin, so the fiscal hawks really don’t have much to worry about, and more importantly we’re talking about getting women out of a corner. … Everybody agrees that no woman gets pregnant to have an abortion. It’s always something of a compulsion. So let’s get her out of the corner if we want her to have choice, right?”

Gardner Mishlove and Patricia McFarland — whose politics and abortion views veer widely left from Davis’ and Lang’s — said they tried to find common ground with more conservative legislators. 

“[We’re] trying to end the divide, to find ways to talk to each other about basic human issues, so that you are not just pro-birth, but if you’re pro life, you really want the family to thrive,” said McFarland, who had a traumatic illegal abortion before Roe v. Wade enshrined federal abortion rights in 1973 and is now an abortion-rights activist. “You want that baby to be born and to have all the care they deserve.”

The fate of the bill remains uncertain, but the Wisconsin 14 have not given up on it.

Jacob VandenPlas, a dad, farmer, agricultural educator and veteran from Door County, has some of the most nuanced politics and abortion views among the 14.

VandenPlas ran for Congress as a Libertarian in 2022 and is considering a future run for governor as an independent or for Wisconsin state Senate as a Republican. He said he believes abortion should be broadly legal through the first trimester and then restricted with exceptions for health and rape. VandenPlas said he’s been calling different legislators about the postpartum Medicaid bill; lobbying his representative, Republican Rep. Joel Kitchens, at the gym; and is currently working on an op-ed. He pitches it from a Libertarian angle.

“This is our future generation, and the constriction on the pocketbooks of the American people and how much the government has robbed from us makes it very difficult to start families,” VandenPlas said. “We’re talking the cost of housing and everything else. It’s very, very important to be able to help the future mothers and future families of our state.”

“Most importantly,” he continued. “This is one of the single best ways that we can address abortion. If you want to start limiting those numbers, we have to start addressing the reasons why women are choosing abortion, and this is one of them. We can save babies’ lives by extending postpartum care, and we can save the lives of mothers.”

Builders head of programs Ashley Phillips said the organization has not given up on trying to pursue abortion consensus solutions in other states, as abortion restrictions continue to broadly impact reproductive health care, including for those who want to have babies but have a shortage of health care options. She said Builders is conducting listening sessions in Texas, the next likely state for their third Citizens Solutions initiative. But this time participants will determine the policy area, she said.

“One thing I have learned is that this work is messy, it’s complicated, it’s hard, and in the moment, it often doesn’t feel great,” Phillips said. “And then I saw a subset of those people this weekend in Wisconsin, and the joy was back, and the belief that they could do something despite having a lot of discomfort around that issue of abortion.”

Alabama Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Alabama Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Brian Lyman for questions: info@alabamareflector.com.

The post Reunited Wisconsinites who disagree on abortion fight to extend postpartum Medicaid appeared first on alabamareflector.com

Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Centrist

This article presents a balanced view on the contentious issue of postpartum Medicaid extension, highlighting a range of perspectives. The story centers on two conservative men who, despite their opposition to abortion, are advocating for a policy to extend postpartum Medicaid. This juxtaposition between traditionally conservative stances and advocacy for expanded social safety nets offers a nuanced portrayal of the debate. The language remains neutral, and the article emphasizes bipartisan efforts and public support for the policy. The tone reflects an openness to compromise and cooperation across political divides without leaning toward a particular ideological stance, focusing on the individuals’ personal growth and the broader issue at hand. While the article does report on ideological positions—such as the opposition of Wisconsin’s Speaker Robin Vos—the reporting does not seem to promote or criticize any particular viewpoint directly, maintaining a factual and balanced tone. Overall, the article appears to avoid contributing to a discernible political bias, instead reporting on an evolving conversation around healthcare and social policy.