In 2026, Lazar praised the overturning of Roe v. Wade and supported anti-abortion legislation. Lazar called the Dobbs decision “very wise” and “a good move forward,” while claiming that Roe v. Wade “didn’t work.” Lazar acknowledged that current Wisconsin law permitted abortions until 20-weeks, but called for the legislature to “just make a decision” on abortion restrictions. She suggested a “heartbeat” abortion ban as a middle ground between Wisconsinites who wanted to ban abortion “at conception,” and those who wanted abortions allowed “up to the date of birth.”
Even though Lazar later tried to deny her comments, Lazar also suggested she would not have been in the majority in striking down Wisconsin’s “draconian” abortion ban from 1849. She said she was unsure whether she agreed with the Wisconsin Supreme Court majority in repealing the 1849 abortion ban. Lazar also said exceptions for rape and the health of the mother were a “really hard question” for her.
In Lazar’s 2022 run for Court of Appeals, she received endorsements from two anti-abortion organizations. Pro-Life Wisconsin said they endorsed candidates who held a “no-exceptions pro-life position.” During her 2026 run for Wisconsin Supreme Court, Lazar met with members of the conservative Independent Women’s Forum, and took their advice on how to address abortion.
As assistant attorney general, Lazar defended laws that threatened abortion access in Wisconsin. In 2013, Lazar defended a law that would require abortion providers to be physically present when a patient ingested abortion pills, which Planned Parenthood warned would put a “burden on the 45 percent of women who choose a medical rather than a surgical abortion.” In 2014, Lazar defended a law that would require all abortion providers to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals, which Planned Parenthood argued would cause three out of Wisconsin’s four abortion clinics to close.
October 2025: Lazar Called The Dobbs Decision “Actually Very Wise” And Criticized Dobbs Opponents Who “Threw Tantrums About And Were Very Upset About” The Ruling. According to The Wisconsin Independent, “In an Oct. 19 appearance on Madison CBS affiliate Channel 3000’s ‘For the Record,’ Lazar was asked by host Elly Laliberte about being endorsed by Pro-Life Wisconsin in a previous campaign. Lazar said she did not know whether the group would back her again. She continued: ‘This is such a complicated area. … The United States Supreme Court, in the issuance of Dobbs, which everyone threw tantrums about and were very upset about, was actually very wise, because what it did is it said each individual state can now have the members of that state — so the citizens of Wisconsin, we can now decide what we want to do about abortion. We can decide if we want to put limits on it, what limits we want to put, where we want them, if we want to consider any exceptions, if we want to say that once the baby has gone too far, you cannot have abortions.’” [Wisconsin Independent, 11/14/25]
November 2025: Lazar Said The Dobbs Decision Was “A Good Move Forward” And Said “Abortion Is Not Something That Would Be Right For Me.” According to WMTV15 News, “VK: You’ve previously been endorsed by Wisconsin Right to Life and Pro-Life Wisconsin. Are you pro-life? ML: So, interesting question. My personal views, Abortion is not something that would be right for me, but I recognize this is such a difficult, tricky issue for women... The good thing for us is that it’s now an issue that people in the state of Wisconsin have the freedom to decide what they want to do, because now it’s back in front of each individual state. VK: Being back in front of the states is a consequence of Roe versus Wade being overturned. ML: By Dobbs. VK: Yes. Would you say then that you support that Supreme Court ruling? ML: Well, that’s so in about 1972 or ’73, the U.S. Supreme Court did Roe versus Wade. And the funny thing with that is for all the years after that, they could never, ever resolve the matter. And that should tell you something... It should be out of the courts. It should be back where it belongs, which is every one of us making that decision in the state of Wisconsin. And that’s where it is now. So in that respect, yes, I think that’s a good move forward.” [WMTV15 News, 11/11/25]
November 2025 UW-Whitewater College Event: Lazar Claimed Roe V. Wade “Didn’t Work.” According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “Lazar's comments were part of a lengthy answer about how she would address the issue of abortion following a question about the topic during a UW-Whitewater College Republicans event in November. In her wide-ranging response, Lazar discussed her personal opposition to abortion, which she said doesn't matter because she wouldn't try to legislate from the bench. Lazar also said Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision that established a constitutional right to abortion nationwide, ‘didn't work,’ and praised the 2022 Dobbs decision that overturned Roe, effectively sending the authority to regulate or ban abortion back to each state.” [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 1/12/26]
November 2025 UW-Whitewater College Event: When Asked About Personal Opposition To Abortion, Lazar Claimed She Would Not “Legislate From The Bench,” But Also Said She Believed “Wisconsinites Might Back A State Law Banning Abortion Once A Fetal Heartbeat Is Detected.” According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “State Appeals Court Judge Maria Lazar, the conservative candidate for Wisconsin Supreme Court, said she thinks Wisconsinites might back a state law banning abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected, according to a recording from a college Republican event obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. […] Lazar's comments were part of a lengthy answer about how she would address the issue of abortion following a question about the topic during a UW-Whitewater College Republicans event in November. In her wide-ranging response, Lazar discussed her personal opposition to abortion, which she said doesn't matter because she wouldn't try to legislate from the bench. Lazar also said Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision that established a constitutional right to abortion nationwide, ‘didn't work,’ and praised the 2022 Dobbs decision that overturned Roe, effectively sending the authority to regulate or ban abortion back to each state.” [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 1/12/26]
Maria Lazar Opinion: Lazar Claimed “Sensationalized Headlines” Had “Twisted” Her Abortion Position, Further Claiming She Was “Not Running To Impose A Heartbeat Bill From The Bench” And That While “Abortion Is Not Something [She] Would Have Contemplated,” She Promised To “Never Legislate From The Bench.” According to Maria Lazar’s opinion from WisPolitics, “Words matter. Recently, sensationalized headlines have twisted my comments to suggest I am seeking to change Wisconsin’s abortion laws. Let me be clear: I am a jurist, not a politician. I am not running to impose a heartbeat bill from the bench, and any insinuation to the contrary is false. While I have been honest about my personal values as a mother, those feelings do not dictate my rulings. My role is to follow the law, not to legislate from the bench. I am the first judicial candidate to state a clear position on this complex issue of abortion. The people of Wisconsin deserve to know exactly where I stand. As a judge, my personal views, which include the fact that abortion is not something I would have contemplated for myself, make no difference in my role on the bench. I honor my oath to never legislate from the bench.” [Maria Lazar Opinion – WisPolitics, 1/20/26]
Lazar Said It Was A “Really Hard Question” For Her When Faced With Complicated And Challenging Circumstances, Like Mother’s Facing Health Complications Or Children Who Were Raped And Faced The Decision To Seek An Abortion Or Have A Child. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “Lazar acknowledged that abortions often involve complicated and challenging circumstances. ‘People tell me all the time, 'Yes, the 12-year-old, the 13-year-old who was raped, and now has that issue of does she have a child or not. There are always horrible exceptions. The woman's going to die, or not,’ Lazar said. ‘I don't know. It's a really hard question for me.’ She added, ‘But the easy thing for me, is that, I don't make those decisions. I make my personal decisions. When I'm on the bench, I look at the law.’” [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 1/12/26]
October 2025: Lazar Said She Did Not “Know That I Would Have Been In The Majority” Of The Wisconsin Supreme Court Ruling That Repealed An 1849 Abortion Ban. According to The Wisconsin Independent, “Asked about the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s July ruling that repealed a 1849 state statute that had been used to ban abortion, Lazar said, ‘My personal views, I don’t know that I would have been in the majority on that case, but I didn’t really study all the facts and all the details, and I didn’t look to whether the law is or is not constitutional as it is.’” [Wisconsin Independent, 11/14/25]
2022: A Total Abortion Ban That Was Written In 1849 Became Law In Wisconsin When The U.S. Supreme Court Overturned Roe V. Wade. According to Wisconsin Public Radio, “For more than a year now, Wisconsin has been operating under an abortion law that was first written and passed more than 170 years ago. Last June, when the U.S. Supreme Court issued its historic opinion in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case, overturning Roe v. Wade and leaving the legality of abortion up to individual states, that little-known Wisconsin law went into effect. That law — which was written just one year after Wisconsin became a state — effectively bans abortions.” [Wisconsin Public Radio, 8/7/23]
2022: Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul Called The 1849 Abortion Ban “Draconian” And Vowed Not To Enforce It. According to Wisconsin Watch, “In an interview, Attorney General Josh Kaul says the 173-year-old abortion ban may be unenforceable under a legal doctrine called desuetude, which holds that a long-unenforced law essentially becomes invalid. Kaul has vowed not to enforce that ‘draconian’ law if Roe falls.” [Wisconsin Watch, 6/4/22]
February 2026: Maria Lazar Op-Ed: Lazar Claimed She “Never” Said How She Would Rule On The 1849 Abortion Law. According to Maria Lazar’s op-ed from the Washington County Daily News, “Let’s set the record straight. I do not hold extreme views on abortion. Like most Wisconsin citizens, I favor a practical, common-sense approach, as detailed in my written statements. I have maintained that it is better for each individual state to address abortion and the restrictions its citizens deem appropriate to match their moral objectives. Rather than a national standard, Wisconsinites deserve the right to set their own boundaries — not the boundaries of citizens from other states, including Judge Taylor’s home state of California. I have never stated how I would rule on Wisconsin’s 1849 abortion law.” [Maria Lazar Op-Ed – Washington County Daily News, 2/5/26]
HEADLINE: “Wisconsin Right To Life PAC Endorses Judge Maria Lazar For Court Of Appeals District 2” [Press Release – Wisconsin Right To Life, 2/22/22]
2022: Pro-Life Wisconsin Endorsed Lazar For Court Of Appeals District 2 And Said They Endorsed Candidates That Hold The “No-Exceptions Pro-Life Position” And “Are 100 Percent Pro-Life.” According to Pro-Life Wisconsin, “We proudly endorse these candidates who recognize the personhood of the preborn baby and hold the principled and compassionate no-exceptions pro-life position. For over twenty-five years, Pro-Life Wisconsin has held high the banner of total protection for all preborn children. Because we insist on this high standard, more and more candidates for elected office are 100% pro-life. We stand behind those candidates who stand behind 100% of the babies. […] WISCONSIN COURT OF APPEALS, DISTRICT 2 Judge Maria Lazar.” [Pro-Life Wisconsin, 2022 Election Endorsements, Archived 1/30/26]
November 2025 UW-Whitewater College Event: Lazar Told Attendees She Met With Members Of The Conservative Independent Women’s Forum, Where They Gave Her A 16-Page White Paper On Abortion, But Lazar’s Campaign Said The Non-Profit Was Not Advising The Campaign. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “At the Whitewater event, Lazar told the crowd that she had met members of the Independent Women's Forum, a conservative nonprofit group, and that they offered guidance on addressing abortion. ‘They talked to me and gave me this huge, long, 16-page white paper, and I read it,’ Lazar said. ‘And their advice is sound.’ She added, ‘So what I say about abortion is, my personal view is it's not right for me. I have two children. I would never have contemplated an abortion in any circumstance whatsoever. But, as a judge, that doesn't matter.’ Lazar campaign spokesman Nathan Conrad said that the Independent Women's Forum is not advising Lazar's campaign. ‘They provided one of many papers Judge Lazar read about the issue, gaining great information on how to show voters that the current law is constitutional,’ he said.” [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 1/12/26]
2013: As Assistant Attorney General, Lazar Defended Attorney General Van Hollen In Planned Parenthood Of Wisconsin Inc Et Al Vs. J B Van Hollen Et Al. According to the Wisconsin Circuit Court, “Dane County Case Number 2013CV000478 Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin Inc et al vs. J B Van Hollen et al […] Defendant: Van Hollen, J B Attorney name Lazar, Maria S.” [Wisconsin Circuit Court, Dane County, Case no. 2013CV000478, Filed 2/8/13]
2013: Planned Parenthood Of Wisconsin Sued Attorney General Van Hollen To Block A State Law Requiring Abortion Providers To Be Present In The Room When Ingesting Abortion Pills. According to Wisconsin Public Radio, “Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin is asking a Dane County judge to permanently block a new state law that restricts how doctors administer pills used to induce medical abortions. The law has been temporarily blocked since February 2013, when Planned Parenthood first filed suit to prevent Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen and the state medical examining board from enforcing it. Planned Parenthood’s attorney Susan Crawford says the law places a burden on the 45 percent of women who choose a medical rather than a surgical abortion, because it requires a doctor to be present in the room with a woman when she ingests both of the pills necessary to induce the abortion.” [Wisconsin Public Radio, 4/24/14]
2014: Lazar Defended A Wisconsin Law Requiring Abortion Providers To Have Admitting Privileges At A Hospital Within 30 Miles. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “Assistant Attorney General Maria Lazar, one of the lawyers defending the law for the state, contended Planned Parenthood could expand or take over Affiliated's clinic if it were to go out of business.” [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 5/27/14]