Gov. Scott Walker said Tuesday he supports banning abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, despite not taking a position on the issue during his re-election campaign last year.

Walker issued an “open letter on life” Tuesday stating his position on the issue and saying he would sign a bill banning abortion after 20 weeks if it arrived at his desk.

During his re-election campaign, however, Walker denied saying whether he would sign a similar bill. When the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel asked about his stance in October, he did not answer the question directly, but instead said he was pro-life.

In Tuesday’s letter, Walker listed examples of the “substantial progress in the fight for our pro-life examples in Wisconsin” over his four years as governor. This included defunding Planned Parenthood, prohibiting health plans in a health exchange from covering abortions and signed legislation that assured women and unborn children are better protected by placing requirements on medical professionals, he wrote.

“I was raised to believe in the sanctity of life and I will always fight to protect it,” Walker wrote.

Eliza Cussen, a board member of NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin, said the group would fight the bill every step of the way if it is introduced.

Late term abortions happen very infrequently, she said, and when they do happen, it usually is to protect the life of the woman.

“What Scott Walker is doing is talking about intervening with a woman and her health care provider in a situation where her life is at risk,” Cussen said. “I think he should get out of emergency rooms and leave the health decisions to the doctor.”

Wisconsin Right to Life, however, said in a statement they were “very happy to hear” of Walker’s announcement and urged the Legislature to pass the bill.

“In light of this excellent news, we urge the Wisconsin State Legislature to pass a bill to protect pain-capable unborn children as soon as possible,” Heather Weininger, the group’s executive director, said.

In an email to The Badger Herald, Nicole Safar, public policy director for Planned Parenthood Wisconsin, said the bill would take health care decisions away from women.

“At Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, our number one priority is patient safety,” Safar said. “It’s troubling that Governor Walker would support a policy that puts politics ahead of women’s health and safety. Policies like this take away a woman’s ability to make her own health care decisions in very complicated medical situations.”