Wisconsin Supreme Court takes up the case to protect abortion rights

Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin (PPWI) is asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to interpret the state constitution as it relates to making decisions about whether and when to have a child, including the right to have an abortion

“Planned Parenthood did file a lawsuit arguing that our state constitution protects the right to bodily autonomy, which includes the right to choose when and whether to have children and, of course, therefore the right to have an abortion, and for physicians to provide that care,” said PPWI Chief Strategy Officer Michelle Velasquez.

Velasquez said despite all the progress that has been made to resume abortion care since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the protections afforded under Wisconsin’s constitution are still unclear.

“PPWI believes that our petition complements the Kaul v. Urmanski case, which was initiated by the Department of Justice in 2022,” Velasquez said of the case surrounding a law from 1849. That law had been widely interpreted as outlawing abortion in all cases except to save the mother’s life.

“We are incredibly grateful for Wisconsin Attorney General Kaul’s leadership on that important case, which restored access to abortion care in Wisconsin last September, and we hope to continue building on that important progress.”

Velasquez said the people of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin State Legislature need the court to provide “guard rails.”

“My hope for the future is that sexual and reproductive health care is not debated in the Capitol anymore—that people are able to go to the doctor and get the sexual and reproductive health care they need—that they choose based on their own life circumstances and in consultation with their physician.”