Planned Parenthood announces it is resuming abortions in Wisconsin
MADISON - Wisconsin's largest provider of abortions announced Thursday it was resuming services in the state after a Dane County judge signaled in July she did not believe the state's abortion law actually bans consensual procedures like those performed at Planned Parenthood.
The move comes after abortions have been unavailable in Wisconsin for more than a year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortions in the U.S. for 50 years before it was struck down in 2022.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization put back into effect an 1849 law that was interpreted by Planned Parenthood and other providers as banning all abortions except in situations where the mother could die.
Proponents of abortion access sued to invalidate the 19th century-era abortion law that became the center of Wisconsin politics during the 2022 midterms and the spring Supreme Court race. But a recent order in the lawsuit by a Dane County judge interpreted the law differently, ruling the law in question does not actually ban consensual abortions.
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“With patients and community as our central priority and driving force, we are eager to resume abortion services and provide this essential care to people in our State,” Tanya Atkinson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, said in a statement. “With the recent confirmation from the Court that there is not an enforceable abortion ban in Wisconsin, our staff can now provide the full scope of sexual and reproductive health care to anyone in Wisconsin who needs it, no matter what.”
Abortions will resume in Madison, Milwaukee on Monday
Abortions will resume at Planned Parenthood clinics in Milwaukee and Madison on Monday. Patients can schedule appointments online or via phone starting Thursday, Atkinson told reporters during a media briefing.
The clinics will not immediately return to their pre-Dobbs capacities, said Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin associate medical director Dr. Allison Linton, but will continue to work to expand access in the coming weeks. That includes a goal of eventually resuming services at Planned Parenthood's Sheboygan clinic, she said.
"We were really deliberate in making sure we did not resume services until we could commit to providing consistent availability," Linton told reporters, adding that the decision was made in consultation with attorneys and physicians.
Planned Parenthood will operate under the state's pre-Dobbs abortion laws, under which abortion is banned 20 weeks after "probable fertilization." Women are required to undergo an ultrasound before an abortion, along with a counseling appointment and a 24-hour waiting period. In the case of medication abortions, the doctor who administers the pills must be the same one the woman saw for her counseling appointment, and the pills cannot be taken remotely via telemedicine.
Michelle Velasquez, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin director of legal advocacy and services, acknowledged that the most recent court order is not a final ruling, and it's possible things will change in the future.
"We’ll have to take things as they come, but we are confident in our analysis and we are ready to provide this essential care again, because there is really, in our view, not a reason to wait any longer," Velasquez said.
Democrats cheer move, Wisconsin Right to Life calls it a 'devastating day'
Gracie Skogman, legislative director for Wisconsin Right to Life, said it was "a devastating day for women and preborn children in Wisconsin."
"Planned Parenthood does not value the life of preborn children or women facing unexpected pregnancies, and this is another example of them valuing profit over comprehensive and life-affirming care of women," Skogman said in a statement.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, told reporters, "I will pray tonight for all the unborn children who won't have the opportunity to be born."
Vos called Planned Parenthood's move "very presumptive" and said the organization's confidence makes him worry about "the independence of our judiciary."
Asked whether the Legislature might sue to stop Planned Parenthood from resuming abortions, Vos said he expects some outside groups might do that, but "the Legislature doesn't have to put itself into every single legal argument." He said he still supports passing legislation to add exceptions for rape and incest to the 1849 law.
Democrats in the state Capitol cheered the decision but said they won't let up on efforts to restore and expand abortion access in Wisconsin.
State Sen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison, who has for years spearheaded efforts to repeal the 1849 law, said lawmakers need to "ensure our state constitution protects reproductive rights" and work to expand access to medication abortion.
Planned Parenthood's decision is a welcome one, Roys said, but "abortion access will never be safe as long as politicians and judges can suspend our rights."
"Our fight to restore the same reproductive rights and freedoms Wisconsinites had up until the day the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe must continue," Democratic Gov. Tony Evers said in a statement. "I will keep fighting like hell every day until Wisconsinites have the right to make their own healthcare decisions without interference from politicians who don’t know anything about their lives, their family, or their circumstances."
Senate Minority Leader Melissa Agard, D-Madison, told reporters during a press conference that a return to pre-Roe "certainly is one step but we have a large mountain to climb to ensure that reproductive bodies in the state of Wisconsin have the autonomy to make their own health care decisions."
Lawsuit at center of abortion question could come before Supreme Court next month
The lawsuit remains active in Dane County Circuit Court. It could eventually make its way to the state Supreme Court, which as of last month has a 4-3 liberal majority.
On July 7, Dane County Circuit Judge Diane Schlipper denied a motion to dismiss the lawsuit from defendant Sheboygan District Attorney Joel Urmanski, who argued in May that Attorney General Josh Kaul, who brought the lawsuit, was asking a judge to perform the duties of lawmakers and was ignoring the fact that lawmakers have put forward language to repeal the original abortion law and decided against passing it.
Schlipper in the July 7 order said doctors deserve an answer to which abortion-related state law they should follow now that the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, putting back into effect laws in Wisconsin that were dormant under the 50-year decision.
The judge also signaled she did not believe the law in question applies to abortions but to feticide.
"There is no such thing as an '1849 Abortion Ban' in Wisconsin. A physician who performs a consensual medical abortion commits a crime only 'after the fetus or unborn child reaches viability …'" she wrote, explicitly adding the law does not prohibit consensual medical abortions.
