Planned Parenthood forced to pause abortion services in Wisconsin due to Trump legislation

Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin will once again pause abortion services at its clinics next week after an injunction that blocked portions of President Donald Trump’s megabill was lifted.

Three Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin clinics in Madison, Milwaukee and Sheboygan currently offer abortion services and are together the largest provider for abortion services in the state.

The temporary pause in services will take effect on Oct. 1. Until then, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin says that it is working to see as many patients as possible and continuing to monitor the legal landscape.

“Our commitment is unwavering: 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,” Tanya Atkinson, president of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin said in a statement. “In the meantime, we are pursuing every available option — through the courts, through operations, and civic engagement.”

“To the patients who count on us: we are here for you. To our staff and supporters: thank you for standing with us. We remain dedicated to care — no matter what,” Atkinson said.

The organization is halting services due the federal tax cut and spending megabill — officially titled the “One Big Beautiful Bill” Act — signed by President Donald Trump earlier this year.

Federal funds have been prohibited from being used to pay for most abortion care for nearly five decades under the Hyde Amendment. However, Planned Parenthood has been able to use federal funds via Medicaid payments and Title X, a federally funded family planning program, to help provide services other than abortion care, including contraceptive care, STI testing, pregnancy testing, and gynecological services to low-income and uninsured individuals.

The new law includes a provision, which is set to expire July 4, 2026, that bars Medicaid payments for one year for organizations that received more than $800,000 in Medicaid reimbursements in fiscal year 2023 and primarily engage in family planning services and reproductive health and provide abortions. Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin noted that the law was crafted specifically to penalize Planned Parenthood and its patients.

The law is being challenged in court, but an injunction that was blocking the law from taking effect was lifted earlier this month by the First District Court of Appeals.

According to the UW-Madison’s Collaborative for Reproductive Equity (CORE), after October 1, clinic-based abortion care in Wisconsin will only be available at two independent clinics in Milwaukee.

“Effectively, 99% of Wisconsin counties now lack clinic-based abortion care,” the organization said in an email.

This is the second time that abortion services will disappear from the state since Roe v. Wade was overturned.

After the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Dobbs decision, abortion care in Wisconsin halted for about 15 months from June 2022 until September 2023, when Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin determined it had enough legal standing to resume.

Abortion had been halted in Wisconsin due to a criminal law enacted in 1849, but that was ruled invalid and unenforceable by the Wisconsin Supreme Court in July. The Court found in its 4-3 decision that the law had effectively been repealed by other laws passed after it.

A coalition of Illinois abortion providers and advocates said at a press conference in Chicago Thursday morning that they were prepared to take Wisconsin residents who need abortion services.

Dr. Allison Cowett, an OB-GYN and chief medical officer for Family Planning Associates, which is the largest independent abortion provider in Illinois, said the agency saw a significant jump in patients the last time abortion services were restricted in Wisconsin.

“Before Dobbs, less than 3% of our patients traveled to Illinois from Wisconsin for an abortion. When Wisconsin’s 1849 trigger ban went into effect, that number jumped to 9%,” Cowett said. “One in every 12 patients we cared for here in this building came from Wisconsin. After 15 months of that ban, abortion services in Wisconsin were restored, and that number dropped in half.”

She expects the previous increase to be repeated.

“With the sharp reduction in abortion access expected in Wisconsin in less than a week, we anticipate a large influx of patients, once again, forced to travel to Illinois for this basic health care,” Cowett said.

Megan Jeyifo, executive director of the Chicago Abortion Fund, said the pause in services amounts to a ban and Illinois is prepared to once again take in patients.

“Illinois is ready. Our constellation of care, which includes providers, funds, advocates, and our incredible elected officials will not leave people stranded,” Jeyifo said. “We will not abandon people when they need us. We will be here with open arms to support the needs of our neighbors. Abortion is not just a procedure or a few pills. Abortion gives women and girls and trans and non-binary people control of our lives, our families and our futures.”

Wisconsin Democrats were critical of Trump’s law for how it is affecting access and recommended that people continue to reach out to Planned Parenthood if they need care.

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) told reporters after a discussion with people affected by Trump administration changes to the Affordable Care Act in Mount Horeb that Planned Parenthood’s announcement is just one of the health care impacts from Trump’s “big, ugly bill.”

“Planned Parenthood does incredible things for people’s health, cancer screenings, wellness checkups, full range of reproductive care, and this is obviously already having impacts on the type of care that Wisconsinites will be able to receive, and it’s a tragic result,” Baldwin said.

State Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton) and state Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) said in a joint statement that “the Trump administration and Republican extremists are focused on targeting access to reproductive health care.”

“Planned Parenthood’s announcement that it is pausing abortion services is the latest example of the devastating effects of Trump’s Big, Ugly Bill. Wisconsinites will continue to have their lives upended and their wellbeing threatened by that piece of legislation,” the lawmakers said. “It is important to note that abortion is and remains legal in the State of Wisconsin. Those who need that health care should continue to contact Planned Parenthood for help in finding access to those services or reach out to other providers who offer abortion services.”

Wisconsin Right to Life, an anti-abortion advocacy organization, celebrated the pause in services in a statement.

“Taxpayer dollars should never fund the taking of innocent preborn lives,” Executive Director Heather Weininger said, claiming that Planned Parenthood has “long centered its operations around abortion services, and this announcement only confirms that reality.”

According to Planned Parenthood’s annual report from 2022-23, abortion services accounted for 4% of all the health services the organization provided.

“Women and girls facing difficult or unexpected pregnancies deserve compassion, real support, and life-affirming care — and that’s exactly what the pro-life movement is committed to providing,” Weininger said.