Mandela Barnes hosts roundtable on abortion access in Eau Claire

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) -The midterm election is almost a month away. Candidates in races across the state are working to appeal to voters.

In the race for U.S. Senate, democratic candidate Mandela Barnes made a stop in Eau Claire Wednesday afternoon. In November, Barnes will face incumbent Republican Senator Ron Johnson.

As part of his push to win that seat, Barnes held a roundtable focusing on abortion access at The Coffee Grounds in Eau Claire.

On June 24, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade making abortion illegal in Wisconsin due to an 1849 law.

“It’s obviously an issue that impacts women,” Barnes said. “On the whole it impacts everybody, and I wish more men thought about it that way.”

Western Wisconsin women shared their thoughts and concerns on the topic.

“We all had a story about the necessity of having medical care when we were pregnant and that pregnancy was not viable, and our lives could have potentially been at stake, and that’s just not acceptable at this point in our world,” said Juliana Schaefer, one of the roundtable participants.

Some of the women shared their personal experiences with high-risk pregnancies and the decisions they had to make. Other participants talked about the high cost of raising children and their trouble finding and affording daycare.

Another concern: equitable access to healthcare based on where they live.

“It’s not easy to pack up your life and move,” said Stacey Jackson, another participant of the roundtable. “I mean, and people can’t just pack up their life and move.”

As campaigning to be one of Wisconsin’s two senators continues, Barnes said he’s opposed to limitations on when an abortion can happen.

“This is about treating each individual situation as they are,” Barnes said. “You can’t legislate a specific timeline.”

We reached out to Senator Johnson’s campaign for reaction to Barnes’ visit. We didn’t receive a response back.

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