Current Laws Impacting Abortion In Wisconsin

There’s a lot going on in the abortion policy landscape. Here at UW CORE, Collaborative for Reproductive Equity, we are keeping track of the current policies, and will continue to provide updates should these policies change.

In this CORE Brief, we explore Wisconsin State Laws Impacting Abortion Access. This includes data on current abortion clinics in Wisconsin, abortions by race and by age, and the overall number of abortions from 2009 to 2019.

In Wisconsin, only four health clinics currently provide abortion services. These clinics are located in three counties (Dane, Sheboygan, and two in Milwaukee), meaning that 96% of the state’s counties do not have an abortion provider. Nearly 70% of Wisconsin women of reproductive age (between 15 and 44 years) live in a county that lacks an abortion care clinic. Further, an analysis of state data from 2009-2017 showed that due to recent clinic closures, residents of some counties experienced great increases in driving distances to obtain abortion care. Increases in driving distance make obtaining an abortion more costly in terms of both time and money.

A map of Wisconsin showing abortion clinic locations in Dane County, Sheboygan County, and Milwaukee County. There are four clinics as of May 2022.
A map of Wisconsin showing abortion clinic locations in Dane County, Sheboygan County, and Milwaukee County. There are four active clinics as of May 2022.
Number of abortions that occurred in Wisconsin, 2009-2019. A line graph shows data points ranging from 8542 abortions in WI in 2009, to 6511 abortions in WI in 2019.
Number of abortions that occurred in Wisconsin, 2009-2019. Data comes from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.
Abortions that occurred in Wisconsin, percentage by race, 2019. Pie chart showing that 51% of abortions in 2019 were among white people, 14% were of people of unknown racial identity, 1% were among American Indian people, 28% were among Black people, 2% were among people of multiple racial backgrounds, and 4% were among people of Asian and/or Pacific Islander backgrounds.
Abortions that occurred in Wisconsin, percentage by race, 2019. Data from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.
Wisconsin Abortions by age, 2019. A bar chart shows that in 2019, 17 people under 15 years of age received abortion care, 184 people ages 15-17 received abortion care, 506 people ages 18-19 received abortion care, 1,917 people ages 20-24 received abortion care, 1,806 people ages 25-29 received abortion care, 1,202 people ages 30-34 received abortion care, 637 people ages 35-39 received abortion care, 224 people ages 40-44 received abortion care, and 18 people ages 45 or older received abortion care.
Wisconsin Abortions by age, 2019.

 

Learn more in CORE’s Brief, Wisconsin State Laws Impacting Abortion Access.