Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin challenges restrictive abortion laws in new suit

Wisconsin law makes it a felony for anyone other than a certified physician to perform an abortion and mandates a 24-hour waiting period for those seeking the procedure.MADISON, Wis. (CN) – Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin sued the Medical Examining Board and statewide district attorneys, challenging the constitutionality of two abortion statutes.“Freedom means being able to make the decisions that shape our lives and futures,” said Tanya Atkinson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin. “No politician should have the power to make a deeply personal pregnancy decision for someone else. Wisconsin’s Constitution promises liberty to all of us, and this case asks our courts to protect that promise.”The Guttmacher Institute, a leading research and policy institute, classifies Wisconsin as a restrictive state for abortion access.Pregnant people in Wisconsin can obtain an abortion within 20 weeks after fertilization but must first attend an in-person counseling session and receive an ultrasound, even when not medically necessary.Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin sued Thursday, challenging two statutes it says make timely abortion care particularly difficult.The first restricts abortions to physicians, making it a Class I felony for anyone other than a physician to perform one. Related statutes require the same physician to conduct both the physical exam and procedure, also punishable as a Class I felony.According to Planned Parenthood, the restriction prevents qualified advanced practice clinicians, advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants from providing care within their education, training and skills.Wisconsin also requires a 24-hour waiting period for abortion care. A physician must obtain informed consent and provide certain information at least 24 hours before the procedure.According to the complaint, most patients seeking abortions have already made their decision, and the waiting period only increases burdens and costs.The organization argues the statute violates equal protection because women are not required to wait before making decisions to continue a pregnancy.“Each of these access restrictions substantially curtails the availability of abortion care within the state with no adequate justification for doing so. Each provision, therefore, violates the rights of Wisconsin women to liberty and bodily autonomy under Article I, Section 1 of the Wisconsin Constitution,” Planned Parenthood said in its 41-page complaint.The organization also says the statutes violate patients’ and providers’ equal protection rights by treating women differently from men and abortion patients differently from those seeking other pregnancy-related health care.Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin provides sexual and reproductive health services statewide, including gynecological exams, cancer screenings, contraceptives, family planning, STI testing and abortions.The Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down an 1849 abortion ban in July 2025 after years of litigation following the overturning of Roe v. Wade. The ideologically divided court’s decision drew a 49-page dissent from conservative justices.The high court found the law had been implicitly repealed by 50 years of legislation governing legal abortions, including the two statutes challenged in Thursday’s lawsuit.The liberal-leaning justices warned of the dangers of the restrictive ban, which made it a felony for anyone other than the pregnant person to intentionally “destroy an unborn child,” with an exception only to preserve the mother’s life.About one in four women will have an abortion by age 45, according to Planned Parenthood. The organization says the risks of pregnancy, labor and childbirth are generally greater than those associated with abortion.Planned Parenthood offers medication abortions through 12 weeks and procedural abortions through 21 weeks and six days of pregnancy at its 18 health centers that provide abortion care.Joining the organization in the suit are advanced practice registered nurses Natalee Hartwig and Josephine Krizek, advanced registered nurse practitioner Katherine Simons and Allison Linton, M.D.The individual plaintiffs want to provide abortion care to their patients but are barred by the statute despite their qualifications.Hartwig provides abortions at a Planned Parenthood location in Illinois, where nonphysicians can legally provide them. According to the organization, she has delivered 300 to 400 babies during her career.There is no medical justification for the physician-only restriction, according to Planned Parenthood and the World Health Organization.The plaintiff asked the court to permanently enjoin defendants from enforcing the challenged statutes and declare them unconstitutional.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads