The Wisconsin Supreme Court is currently deciding on a case that could determine the future of abortion access in Wisconsin. In fear of this case’s decision, as well as President-elect Donald Trump’s second term, Wisconsin women are starting to make proactive steps to control their reproductive health plans, according to The Cap Times.
Amy Williamson, associate director of the University of Wisconsin Collaborative for Reproductive Equity spoke about the restrictions already in place for women seeking reproductive healthcare in Wisconsin.
“Wisconsin already has many restrictions to abortion access, including really rough ones in regards to funding restrictions,” Williamson said.
Funding assistance for abortion services in Wisconsin is not available under Medicaid, for those who are public employees or for those who obtain their health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, Williamson said.
In addition to funding restrictions, Wisconsin also requires in-person visits for those seeking abortion and some of the most strict laws about medication abortion in the country. These restrictions include a ban on telehealth, or virtual healthcare and strict requirements overseeing who exactly is allowed to provide reproductive care. For example, the same doctor has to see you at all visits, and only physicians can provide abortion related care in the state of Wisconsin, differentiating it from other states. Williamson said.
“There’s an extensive body of evidence that shows if abortion access is further restricted or eliminated in Wisconsin, things will get worse,” Williamson said. “This is not new science.”
Compared to those who are able to get abortions when they need them, people who are denied care are more likely to have chronic health and mental health struggles, to experience intimate partner violence and to struggle achieving both education and career goals, according to the ANSIRH Turnaway Study Williamson said.
While the risk of complications from abortion related care are small, the longer you wait for treatment the more risks there are and the more expensive the treatment gets, creating a vicious cycle, Williamson said.
Williamson added that according to the CORE Brief, abortion restrictions disproportionately affect minorities, including people of color and people living on low incomes who already face inequitable access to healthcare. If Wisconsin sees additional restrictions or the elimination of abortion access, the already existing economic, health and social inequalities prevalent in the state will widen, Williamson said.
“There’s evidence and lots of research that shows abortion bans and restrictions harm everyone who may become pregnant, but they cause greater harm to people who are already systematically denied access to care and economic opportunity,” Williamson said.
After the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization’s decision in June 2022, abortion was unavailable in Wisconsin for 15 months due to the 1849 law interpreted by many to criminalize abortion care, Williamson said. While services have been returned, this law is still being debated in the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
During the 15 months that Wisconsin went without abortion access, doctors were prevented from providing standard care to patients experiencing pregnancy complications according to CORE research, Williamson said.
There is growing evidence that shows a connection between states with abortion restrictions or bans and states with a lack of access to obstetricians, gynecologists and other physicians, Williamson said.
“New OBGYNs or medical students don’t want to be trained or provide care here because it’s a hard environment to provide care,” Williamson said. “That’s particularly bad for Wisconsin because we have maternity care deserts in the state where we don’t have enough doctors as it is.”
After the Dobbs decision in Wisconsin, there are documented decreases in access to contraceptive care and increases in difficulty accessing care, according to a Guttmacher study.
Additionally, there is research evidence from other states documenting increases in people using long acting methods of contraception and birth control including IUDs and implants as well as permanent methods like vasectomies and tubal ligations, according to numerous studies including a Science Direct study about Ohio, a JAMA network OBGYN study and an ASRM Fertility and Sterility study,
“If you create more barriers for abortion, it has ripple effects on other types of reproductive care,” Williamson said.
During the 15 months of no abortion in Wisconsin, people seeking reproductive healthcare travelled to Illinois and Minnesota, which is something Williamson expects to happen again if access is eliminated, she said.
Additionally, there is emerging evidence according to the CORE brief that Wisconsinites have been seeking telehealth medication abortions from providers in other states, referred to as shield law providers, Williamson said.
Shield laws offer legal protections to doctors or other healthcare providers who offer abortion care by telehealth to patients in states with restricted reproductive access, Williamson said.
“We have quite recent data that suggests hundreds, if not thousands of Wisconsinites have obtained medication abortion pills from this telehealth service from out of state shield law providers,” Williamson said.
Director of Communications for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin Analiese Eicher said that there is rampant misinformation surrounding the conversation of reproductive health.
A common tactic employed by those who oppose reproductive healthcare and the right to bodily autonomy is to cause confusion, Eicher said.
“The confusion that we hear and the questions that we get from folks is part of their plan,” Eicher said. “It’s part of the strategy.”
Since the Dobbs decision, there has been an increase in questions regarding access to birth control, reproductive and sexual care, but Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin is prepared for this increase and is providing care through the confusion, Eicher said.
Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin has a program called the Quarterly Contraceptive Kit that ships birth control directly to you to be set up virtually, Eicher said.
“The request for contraceptives and birth control, particularly the long acting birth control like an IUD or the Depo shot, have increased and questions about those have increased.”
Since Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin’s beginning 90 years ago, they have been providing care across Wisconsin throughout decades of changes and varying restrictions, Eicher said.
Eicher assured that Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin has every intention of continuing to provide reproductive care regardless of the Wisconsin Supreme Court decision.
“We are prepared for everything,” Eicher said. “But I think the biggest thing that we’re prepared for is that we’re providing care no matter what. And we mean that.”
