Planned Parenthood Resuming Abortions
September 21, 2023 | Wisconsin
Planned Parenthood said on Thursday it would resume providing abortions in Wisconsin, where the procedure has been largely unavailable since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade more than a year ago.
The decision to restart services is a victory for abortion-rights groups in the state, where the issue has reshaped politics and defined a State Supreme Court election.
Wisconsin had an abortion ban from 1849 that was still on the books, but it had been unenforceable since Roe v. Wade made abortion legal nationwide in 1973. Josh Kaul, the state attorney general and a Democrat, sued to overturn the law days after the U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2022.
The announcement from Planned Parenthood came after a judge in Dane County, which includes Madison, issued a preliminary ruling in July saying that she did not believe the 1849 law made abortion illegal. “There is no such thing as an ‘1849 abortion ban’ in Wisconsin,” she wrote. The judge’s final ruling is expected in the coming weeks. The dispute is likely to be decided by a higher court. (Excerpt from the New York Times.)
