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Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin pausing abortions
Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin is pausing its abortion services starting on Oct. 1 as it works to find a way to provide the service following funding cuts.
MADISON, Wis. - Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin is pausing its abortion services starting on Oct. 1 as it works to find a way to provide the service following Medicaid funding cuts in President Donald Trump's federal budget bill.
Abortion in Wisconsin
Local perspective:
With Medicaid funding at risk, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin will pause abortions. Its 2023 annual report shows 54% of its revenue comes from Medicaid.
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The organization warned earlier this year that about half its clinics that provide abortion could be closed as a result of a ban on Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood for services other than abortion.
Planned Parenthood services include cancer screenings and sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment. Federal Medicaid money was already not paying for abortion, but affiliates relied on Medicaid to stay afloat.
Planned Parenthood clinic, Milwaukee
"I can tell you that my very first medical exam, for my reproductive health, first pap smear I ever had, I had it at Planned Parenthood," said U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wisconsin). "Planned Parenthood is a place where people find out they have high blood pressure, they go there for sexually transmitted disease treatment, detection, they find out that they're diabetic."
"I don’t only want them to pause, I want them to stop abortions," said Dan Weber of Hartland, who opposes abortion. "I hope it’s a permanent thing."
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What's next:
Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin said in a statement that it is trying to see as many patients as possible between now and Tuesday. The federal law takes effect Wednesday. It is not scheduling patients beyond that date and the organization believes the move will allow it to continue seeing other Medicaid patients. The organization said it was working with providers across the state to make sure patients are referred quickly and receive timely care.
It is also considering taking legal action, the group said.
"Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin will continue to provide the full spectrum of reproductive health care, including abortion, as soon and as we are able to," Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin President and CEO Tanya Atkinson said in the statement. "In the meantime, we are pursuing every available option through the courts, through operations, and civic engagement."
Federal defunding
Big picture view:
The temporary defunding is found in the law Republicans called the "Big Beautiful Bill." Its 331 pages don’t use the words "Planned Parenthood," but they do defund the organization if it keeps performing abortions.
An appeals court ruled the government can stop payments while a court case plays out. For one year, it bans Medicaid money from going to any organization that meets all four criteria – which Planned Parenthood does:
- It is a nonprofit 501c3 organization.
- It serves as what is called an "essential community provider."
- It is "primarily engaged in family planning services, reproductive health, and related medical care."
- It provides abortions.
"As I look at the big, beautiful, ugly bill for billionaires, I want to say that it's just mean-spirited to be cutting out this benefit. It is the proverbial keeping women barefoot and pregnant and in their place," Moore said. "You know, the sexism that is associated with this cut cannot be ignored."
"I do not believe that taxpayers should be funding abortion," said U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wisconsin), who is now running for governor. "Now, if they can raise private funds to do that, they are free to do what they choose to, but I don’t think that taxpayers should be paying for abortions."
Something called the "Hyde Amendment" already bans federal dollars from going to abortions, but the new law goes further. If Planned Parenthood keeps offering abortions, it would lose Medicaid funding for other services like STD testing and cancer screening.
Abortion law
The backstory:
The abortion landscape has been shifting frequently since the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2022 that allowed states to ban abortion. Currently, 12 states do not allow it at any stage of pregnancy, with limited exceptions, and four more ban it after about six weeks’ gestation.
The bans have resulted in more women traveling for abortion and an increased reliance on abortion pills. Prescribers in states where they’re allowed have been shipping the pills to places where abortion is banned, a practice that is facing some legal challenges and is expected to attract more.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court in July struck down the state's 1849 near-total ban on abortion, saying it was superseded by newer state laws regulating the procedure. The same day it ruled in that case, the court dismissed a lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin asking it to find the law unconstitutional.
Wisconsin Capitol, Madison
Wisconsin's abortion ban was in effect until 1973, when the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion nationwide nullified it. Legislators never officially repealed it, however, and conservatives argued that the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that overturned Roe reactivated it.
Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin stopped providing abortions after that ruling for 15 months before resuming them as the lawsuit over the state law played out. It has been providing abortions at three clinics in Wisconsin for the past two years.
Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin serves about 50,000 people across the state. About 60% of them are covered by Medicaid, the organization said.
The Source: FOX6 News interviewed people and referenced a statement and information from Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin. The Associated Press also contributed to this article.