Protesters are seen in the Wisconsin Capitol Rotunda during a march supporting overturning Wisconsin's near total ban on abortion, Jan. 22, 2023, in Madison, Wis. Planned Parenthood has resumed offering abortions in Wisconsin at clinics in Madison and Milwaukee. The resumption of services on Monday Sept. 18 2023 is the first time abortions have been available in the state since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
By Harm Venhuizen
Planned Parenthood resumed offering abortion services in Wisconsin on Monday after halting them for more than a year since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
Providers across the state stopped offering abortions following the June 2022 decision, fearing enforcement of an 1849 state law that appears to ban the procedure but had previously been nullified by the 1973 Roe ruling. A judge ruled last month that the 144-year-old law doesn't apply to medical abortions.
In light of the ruling, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin began offering abortions at clinics in Madison and Milwaukee again on Monday. The group did not say how many abortions it expected to perform but said appointments at its Milwaukee clinic on Monday were completely filled within 24 hours of announcing that services would resume.
Without access to abortion care in Wisconsin for the past 15 months, many patients have sought assistance in neighboring Illinois, where abortions have remained widely available. According to Planned Parenthood of Illinois, its clinics have seen a seven-fold increase in patients from Wisconsin since the Supreme Court overturned Roe.
Women's Medical Fund of Wisconsin, which offers financial assistance for abortion procedures and related costs, helped 477 patients from Wisconsin obtain abortions outside the state in the first six months of 2023, according to board president Cynthia Lin. Most of those appointments were in Minnesota or Illinois, she said.
“There’s a lot of work still to do, even within the return of legal abortion care in Wisconsin,” Lin said on Monday, pointing to the long distances many patients still have to travel to reach clinics in Madison or Milwaukee. Lin also highlighted barriers created by state laws that require people seeking an abortion in Wisconsin to have an ultrasound and a counseling appointment before waiting 24 hours for the procedure.
The lawsuit challenging Wisconsin's 1849 law was brought by the state's Democratic attorney general and is expected to end up in front of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which flipped to liberal control last month.
Democrats, including Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, praised the resumption of abortion services. Meanwhile, anti-abortion rights groups in the state condemned the move and promised to continue fighting in court for the procedure to be outlawed.
Harm Venhuizen is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
On this episode of Cheddar Reveals Richenda Sandlin-Tymitz, Marketing & Content Manager at Alaska Tour & Travel, breaks down when and how to plan your best trip to Alaska; Kristen Miller, Acting Executive Director, Alaska Wilderness League, discusses the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the oil drilling that threatens it; Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'The Magic of the Wild.'
Kristen Miller, acting executive director, Alaska Wilderness League, discusses the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the oil drilling that threatens it.
The Department of Treasury is warning Americans to expect delays on their tax returns this year as the IRS manages staffing shortages due to the pandemic.
The United States and Russia remain distant following a meeting between high-level officials for the two countries in Geneva, Switzerland. The nations remain conflicted over Washington's concern of a potential invasion of Ukraine by Russia and Moscow dispute with NATO expanding into former Soviet states. Hagar Chemali, host of Oh My World on YouTube and former spokesperson for the U.S. Mission to the U.N., joined Cheddar's "News Wrap" to give her take about the careful diplomatic negotiations underway. "I would expect more rounds," she said about the talks. "Both sides really remain adamant that we're not going to talk about Russia's proposal, and Russia doesn't want to talk about anything but its proposal. So once they start talking about the other items on the table, and there are a few other items, that's when negotiations can start."
Markets closed the day mixed, and well off their lows of the day following a market meltdown earlier in the session. The Nasdaq staged a comeback late in the day, even amid ongoing worries about the Federal Reserve raising interest rates. Doug Flynn, certified financial planner and co-founder of Flynn Zito Capito, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss the markets' close and what's driving the major indexes.
Eli Yokley, Senior Reporter at Morning Consult, joins Cheddar News to discuss how Americans are prioritizing economic issues over the pandemic when it comes to voting.
President Biden's disapproval rating hit a new high in December according to a poll from CNBC and Change Research, as Americans expressed their disapproval over the current state of the economy. This comes just months after the president signed a historic infrastructure bill back in November that was promised to bring a surge of jobs, especially in the manufacturing sector.
Change Research Senior Pollster Nancy Zdunkewicz spoke to Cheddar News about just what is driving the President’s disapproval rating.
