Today, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin (PPWI) has announced that it will resume abortion healthcare services at two locations in the state starting on Monday, Sept. 18. In their decision, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin cites a July 7 ruling from a Dane County circuit judge regarding the interpretation of an 1849 Wisconsin law.
Since the June 2022 U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned Roe v. Wade, abortion healthcare services have been unavailable in Wisconsin, except in extremely rare cases. Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin’s announcement means that Monday will be the first day since June of 2022 that people can obtain abortion care at PPWI’s healthcare centers, including both procedural and medication abortion services.
Despite this change, confusion about abortion’s legality and availability will likely continue among abortion seekers and others. For example, in ongoing research, UW Collaborative for Reproductive Equity (CORE) investigators have collected data from pregnant Wisconsinites who wondered if they would be breaking the law by leaving the state to obtain abortion care in Illinois or other bordering states.
“Accessible and affordable abortion care services are essential for reproductive equity, autonomy, and the wellbeing of pregnant people in Wisconsin.”
-CORE Director Jenny Higgins
What is clear, however, is the impact of abortion restrictions. “The evidence overwhelmingly documents that abortion restrictions cause harm to people seeking care, families, and communities, and they hit hardest those individuals with the fewest social and economic resources,” says Jenny Higgins, CORE director and the Bissell Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at UW-Madison. “As legal clarity emerges, reinstating abortion care services will be critical to reproductive healthcare and autonomy in Wisconsin.”
Even before the Dobbs decision, abortion care was heavily restricted and difficult to access in Wisconsin. Even as Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin resumes abortion healthcare services, the abortion access landscape in Wisconsin is far from ideal.
“CORE research shows that many Wisconsinites already lacked access to abortion care before the overturning of Roe,” Higgins notes. “The past and current landscape often places insurmountable obstacles in the way of those most in need of abortion care, particularly Black and Brown Wisconsinites, rural residents, minors, and those living on low incomes. Accessible and affordable abortion care services are essential for reproductive equity, autonomy, and the wellbeing of pregnant people in Wisconsin.”
Related resources:
- CORE brief documents impacts of abortion restrictions on individuals, families, and communities
- Op-ed: Even if Wisconsin abortion ban overturned, women will face obstacles to care
- New report shows nearly 600 fewer abortions each month in Wisconsin following Dobbs
- CORE brief documents the high abortion care costs and barriers for Wisconsinites in the post-Roe landscape