Abortions resume in Wisconsin after being halted for more than a year
Planned Parenthood has resumed performing abortions in Wisconsin after making the “agonizing decision” to stop the procedures as a result Roe v. Wade is knocked over.
Tanya Atkinson, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, announced that services would be available in Madison and Milwaukee starting Monday, September 18, following a recent court ruling that an “archaic” state law dating back to 1849, that criminalized the procedure and was not enforceable for voluntary abortions.
Appointments at the Milwaukee clinic for its reopening on Monday were filled within 24 hours of the announcement, the group said.
“When Roe was overturned, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin made the agonizing decision to suspend abortion services to protect the doctors and staff who care for patients in communities … from the threat of prosecution under an outdated Wisconsin law, that criminalizes abortion procedures. “Ms Atkinson said in a video statement posted on social media.
The Supreme Court’s decision to end constitutionally protected abortion care in June 2022 is “devastating for Wisconsin women and people across the gender spectrum,” she continued.
With the threat of criminal prosecution, abortion services were shut down in Wisconsin, forcing women to travel to neighboring Illinois to seek medical care.
According to Planned Parenthood of Illinois, clinics in Illinois saw a sevenfold increase in demand from Wisconsin patients.
Cynthia Lin, chief executive of the Women’s Medical Fund of Wisconsin, told the Associated Press that patients still face long journeys to reach clinics in Milwaukee and Madison.
“There is still much work to be done, even toward the return of legal abortion care in Wisconsin,” she said.
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The reinstatement came after three Wisconsin doctors filed a lawsuit challenging the 1849 law, which is still being litigated in state court.
Protesters are seen in the rotunda of the Wisconsin Capitol during a march supporting the repeal of Wisconsin’s near-total abortion ban in January 2023
(Associated Press)
In July, a Dane County Circuit Court judge rejected an attempt to dismiss the lawsuit, ruling that the 1849 law did not cover consensual abortion.
A final decision is expected to end up in the state Supreme Court recently gained a liberal majority For the first time in decades.
Planned Parenthood said it resumed abortion services after consulting with lawyers and doctors that it was legally safe to do so.
The clinics’ reopening was praised by Gov. Tony Evers, who called them “critically important” for women in Wisconsin.