The Fight for Reproductive Freedom Continues

• The Dobbs decision in June 2022 forced the suspension of abortion care in Wisconsin.
• AG Kaul filed a lawsuit challenging the 1849 law saying it was unenforceable.
• In 2023 a Dane County Circuit Court Judge ruled the 1849 law does not apply to consensual abortions and is not enforceable. The ruling allowed PPWI to resume abortion care in Milwaukee, Dane and Sheboygan - the three counties it provided care pre-Dobbs.
• The case is up on appeal and a petition for bypass is pending in the Wisconsin Supreme Court. 

PPWI filed a lawsuit in February 2024 asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to find that the Wisconsin Constitution guarantees the right to bodily autonomy, including the right to abortion care. Protecting access to abortion and birth control is essential to ensuring everyone has the ability to make decisions about their reproductive health and lives. 

Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin is working to eliminate barriers to ensure access to the full range of sexual and reproductive health services and advance sexual and reproductive health equity. 

1. Repeal 940.04 (The 1849 law) 
   Repealing the 1849 law would take it off Wisconsin’s books and inoculate against the future reversal of any favorable court decision interpreting this law as not applying to abortion.  
2. Repeal 253.105: telemedicine ban, same physician, physician only 
   Wisconsin statutes ban telemedicine for abortion care. Statutes also only allow doctors to provide abortion care, even when the abortion is done through medication.  This means that unlike with other medications, health care professionals like Physician Assistants and Advanced Nurse Practitioners cannot prescribe or dispense abortion medications. State law also requires the same doctor for both appointments for medication abortion.  These laws are not based in medicine and were created as barriers rather than adding safety or security to the process. They make it costlier, more time consuming, more difficult to access abortion care in Wisconsin. 
3. Repeal 253.10(2)(3)(c): repeal 24 hour waiting period 
   Wisconsin statutes require a 24hr waiting period between a first appointment and a procedure or medication abortion appointment. This barrier provides no safety or security to the process and only serves to make it costlier, more time consuming, and more difficult to access abortion care in WI. People should be trusted with their healthcare decisions 
4. Right to receive and provide medically accurate information 
   Wisconsin statutes mandate information be shared with patients seeking abortion care. The statute does not mandate that the information shared be medically accurate. This is a dangerous and unnecessary practice that does not provide any safety measures for patients and providers.  
5. Post-partum coverage to 12 months 
   Wisconsinites deserve real post-partum coverage and care. Current Wisconsin laws cap coverage for new mothers at 60 days and legislators failed to pass a bipartisan bill expanding post-partum coverage last session. Expanding coverage will improve lives and health outcomes for Wisconsin families.  
6. Comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education 
   Wisconsin law does not currently require comprehensive and age appropriate sexual and reproductive health education. The Healthy Youth Act, introduced last session, can change that so Wisconsin’s youth can receive the information they need to lead healthy lives. 
7. Constitutional right to abortion 
   The Dobbs decision in 2022 took away federal protections for abortion care, leaving the decision up to the states. While abortion care is legal in WI, there is no constitutional protection. State constitutional protection can help prevent further attacks on reproductive freedoms.  
8. Constitutional/statutory right to contraception 
   There is no federal or state right to contraception (birth control). Establishing state constitutional protection and rights to contraception will secure reproductive freedoms and allow Wisconsinites to live full lives.  
9. GAHT care protections 
   Gender Affirming Hormone Therapy is an important piece of health care for transgender people. Wisconsinites deserve protected access to the healthcare they need to live their lives fully.