Wisconsin Ob-Gyn: ‘It’s such a relief! Abortion is legal in Wisconsin.”

Wisconsin’s “abortion ban” is no more after the state Supreme Court released a decision Wednesday protecting reproductive freedom.

In a 4-3 split reflecting progressive control, the Wisconsin Supreme Court threw out an 1849 statute and affirmed that Wisconsinites continue to have access to abortion care, in a case brought by Gov. Tony Evers, Attorney General Josh Kaul, and a group of physicians.

“It was such a relief this morning to get up and discover that the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled in our favor,” said obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. Kristin Lyerly, who’s been practicing in Minnesota while awaiting clarity on Wisconsin’s 1849 abortion law. “Abortion is legal in Wisconsin again— It means that I can now provide patient-centered care, comprehensive obstetrical gynecological care for my patients again—and that’s an incredible relief.”

Since the US Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision in 2022, Lyerly has had to move her practice to Minnesota because she felt it wasn’t safe to provide proper OB-GYN care in Wisconsin. She also became a plaintiff in Attorney General Josh Kaul’s successful lawsuit challenging the state’s 1849 abortion law, which was interpreted as potentially banning abortion in almost all cases in Wisconsin—until in 2023, when a Dane County judge ruled that it applied to feticide, not elective abortion.

Abortions have been available in the state since that ruling, but a lack of clarity remained. Now, the state Supreme Court’s decision says several laws passed more recently supersede and invalidate the 176-year-old law, giving providers and patients more certainty that abortions will remain legal in Wisconsin.

“It is huge for the entire state and I’m thrilled,” Lyerly said.

Governor Evers: “We won!”

Gov. Tony Evers said the original law—drafted before the Civil War and at a time when Wisconsin women didn’t have the right to vote—had been causing problems for women since the Dobbs ruling that repealed protections guaranteed for nearly 50 years under Roe v. Wade. 

“Three years ago, the US Supreme Court upended five decades of precedent and threw reproductive freedom in Wisconsin—and across our country—into chaos,” Evers said. “I promised then to fight like hell to ensure every Wisconsinite has the freedom to consult their family, their faith, and their doctor and make the reproductive healthcare decision that is right for them, and I’ve never stopped.”

“Thanks to our lawsuit, today’s decision affirms that access to reproductive health care will continue to be available, helping ensure Wisconsin women today are not forced to face firsthand what it’s like to live in a state that bans nearly all abortions, even in cases of rape and incest.”

Lyerly is elated for patients. “Once we’re able to get the word out there and people understand that they don’t have to be afraid to seek care, it means that they’re going to get the health care they need,” she said.

“I know we say it over and over again, but that’s because it’s true—you can’t take abortion out of standard women’s health care.”

Lyerly explained the decision as being life-changing for her patients and everyone in Wisconsin.

“It is part of miscarriage management. It is part of infertility treatment. It is part of managing complicated pregnancies. It is something that we just can’t do without. And frankly, we know that people die when they don’t receive this kind of care. This means that Wisconsin is a place that welcomes women, welcomes families, encourages people to come live here, grow your business, and start your family.”

Voters support abortion access

The court’s decision comes as new polling shows that Wisconsin voters overwhelmingly support abortion access and Planned Parenthood, which provides abortion services at a handful of its Wisconsin clinics. Meanwhile, Wisconsin Republicans at their party convention in May endorsed use of the 1849 law to ban abortion. State legislative Republicans have voted repeatedly in favor of dangerous abortion bans and congressional Republicans voted this week to defund Planned Parenthood, putting in danger all of the basic, affordable, non-abortion health services it provides.

“In the face of relentless attacks from Republicans, the vast majority of Wisconsinites have said time and time again that decisions on abortion should be made between a patient and their doctor, not politicians,” said Lucy Ripp, communications director for A Better Wisconsin Together. “With this new ruling from our state’s highest court, it’s time for Wisconsin Republicans to stop forcing their way into our exam rooms and finally put an end to their repeated attacks on our access to reproductive healthcare.”

Coming back home

Lylerly said she’s positively overwhelmed with this news and can’t wait to get back to work—back in Wisconsin.

“I am very much looking forward to coming home and practicing medicine in Wisconsin—the place where I belong, where my family’s been for six generations, where my kids are, where I want to continue to have my life,—to live my life,” she said. “Let’s do it!”

Evers said the ruling is a win for women and families, a win for health care professionals who want to provide medically accurate care to their patients, and a win for basic freedoms in Wisconsin.

“But our work is not over,” Evers said. “I will continue to fight any effort that takes away Wisconsinites’ reproductive freedom or makes reproductive health care, whether birth control, abortion, IVF, or fertility treatments, any less accessible in Wisconsin than it is today. That is a promise.”