MADISON, Wis. — Judge Maria Lazar has been supported by well known Wisconsin-based anti-abortion groups, including garnering a 100-percent rating from a group that would outlaw all abortions, no exceptions, and opposes many common forms of contraception. In a recent, rambling discussion about her extreme position on abortion, Judge Maria Lazar also name-dropped the International Women’s Forum (IWF) as offering her advice on how to talk about the issue.
“Maria Lazar continues to show us her extremism in opposing people’s freedom to make their own reproductive care decisions, not just with her words but with who supports her campaign and from whom she is taking advice,” commented A Better Wisconsin Together spokesperson Lucy Ripp.
As reported in 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.”
Who is the Independent Women’s Forum that appears to be informing Lazar’s position on abortion? Over the years, reporting has uncovered that IWF:
- Was Spawned From Clarence Thomas Supreme Court Nomination Controversy. The IWF was a spinoff of “Women for Judge Thomas,” a group formed to support the nomination of Clarence Thomas to the U.S. Supreme Court. They worked to undermine the credibility of sexual harassment allegations that surfaced agaisnt Thomas at the time. [Slate, 4/7/16]
- Is Funded by Right-Wing Mega Donors, Including Milwaukee’s Bradley Foundation. IWF’s funders are a who’s who of the right-wing funding infrastructure and have included mega-donors like the Bradley Foundation, Dick DeVos, The Walton Family Foundation, and the Charles Koch Institute [Center for Media and Democracy, 6/21/17; Washington Post 10/1/21]
- Seeks to Advance a Right-Wing Agenda, Including Opposition to Abortion. IWF’s chair described the organization as a weapon in the “Republican conservative arsenal” that caters to “donors who want a high return on their investment for their political dollars …” According to reports of documents detailing IWF’s agenda and funding, their agenda included fomenting opposition to issues like expanding paid family and medical leave, government programs to help lower child care costs, and equal pay laws. Their reported agenda for 2024 also included an effort to convince women to be less concerned about their freedom to make their own reproductive decisions in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court striking down the Roe v Wade decision that provided federal protection of abortion rights.[Washington Post, 5/21/19; Center for Media and Democracy, 6/21/17; Ms. Magazine 5/15/24]
Bizarrely, Lazar’s campaign spokesperson felt compelled to allege that people with whom she had met, and gave her a “huge, long 16-page white paper” from their organization – the substance of which she appears to agree with – were not advising her.
Ripp concluded, “This is the latest revelation of who has Lazar’s ear: a well-funded right-wing group pushing not only an anti-abortion agenda, but one that also erodes the rights and freedoms of working people and the middle class, all in service of corporate profits, special interests, and the wealthy.”
