Last week, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that it would hear two lawsuits related to the right to abortion care in the state.
One case, filed by Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul, challenges the 1849 Wisconsin law interpreted by some as banning nearly all abortions.
The 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned the federal right to abortion established by Roe v. Wade and reactivated Wisconsin’s 1849 law. Abortion providers in the state stopped offering services for fear of criminal prosecution while courts determined whether the law was enforceable.
In 2023, a Dane County Circuit Court ruled that the 1849 Wisconsin law only applies to feticide and not consensual abortions. That ruling was appealed to the state Supreme Court. Following the circuit court decision, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin resumed abortion services at clinics in Milwaukee, Madison, and later Sheboygan County.
The second case accepted by the Wisconsin Supreme Court, filed by Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, will determine if the Wisconsin Constitution protects the right to abortion.
That lawsuit asks the court to interpret the state’s 1849 abortion law as violating patients’ and doctors’ rights to life, liberty, and equal protection under the state constitution.
The timing of the two cases has yet to be announced.
In the meantime, abortion care is available in Wisconsin under restrictions established by other state laws, most of them medically and scientifically unfounded.
Even before the Dobbs decision, abortion care was heavily restricted and difficult to access in Wisconsin. CORE research shows that many Wisconsinites already lacked access to abortion care pre-Dobbs due to state laws and that these abortion restrictions harm pregnant people, their families, and communities.
Related resources: