On September 18, Planned Parenthood’s Water Street Health Center in Milwaukee and Madison East Health Center in Madison will resume offering abortion care, according to Tanya Atkinson, the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, as announced in a social media video.
This decision comes after a ruling by the Dane County Circuit Court in July clarified that a 1849 Wisconsin state law banning abortion is not enforceable for voluntary abortions. Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin consulted with legal experts, physicians, partners, and stakeholders before deciding to resume abortion care in the state.
Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin had suspended abortion care the previous year in response to the uncertainty surrounding the enforceability of the 1849 law, following the US Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade. Since that 2022 ruling, 13 other states had also banned or severely restricted access to abortion procedures.
The 1849 abortion law in Wisconsin criminalizes intentionally destroying the life of an unborn child, except for situations where the abortion is necessary for the pregnant person’s life. Violation of this law is classified as a Class H felony, punishable by up to six years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Additionally, the law specifies penalties for causing the death of the mother or intentionally destroying the life of an “unborn quick child,” which is classified as a Class E felony, punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a $50,000 fine.
In June 2022, Wisconsin’s Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul filed a lawsuit in the Dane County Circuit Court challenging the 173-year-old ban. Defendants, including Republican Sheboygan County District Attorney Joel Urmanski, attempted to have the case dismissed, but this motion was rejected by Dane County Circuit Court Judge Diane Schlipper in July.
Judge Schlipper’s ruling clarified that the 1849 law specifically applies to “feticide,” defined as the act of killing a fetus through physical assault. She emphasized that the law does not mention abortion and concluded that there is no such thing as an “1849 Abortion Ban” in Wisconsin.
It is worth noting that this lawsuit could still be brought before Wisconsin’s Supreme Court, which shifted to a Democratic majority after liberal candidate Janet Protasiewicz won against former conservative justice Daniel Kelly in April.
Wisconsin’s Democratic Governor Tony Evers applauded Planned Parenthood’s decision, stating that he has been committed to restoring reproductive freedom in the state and that this development allows Wisconsinites to access vital reproductive healthcare and abortion services without exception for the first time since June of the previous year. He emphasized the importance of this decision for women and patients in Wisconsin who have been facing challenges in accessing necessary healthcare services.