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)
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.
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.
Palestinians living in the heart of Gaza’s largest city said Wednesday they could see and hear Israeli ground forces closing in from multiple directions, accelerating the exodus of thousands of civilians as food and water become scarce and urban fighting between Israel and Hamas heats up.
Ivanka Trump began testifying Wednesday in the civil fraud trial that is publicly probing the Trump family business, making an appearance she tried to prevent.
Wednesday night is the third Republican presidential primary debate with five candidates set to take the stage. Columnist and political analyst Jonathan Harris spoke with Cheddar News to explain what to expect from a reduced field of candidates, what topics are on tap to discuss and which candidates have the momentum.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is accusing the GOP of playing politics with IRS funding with a new round of budget cuts in a recent aid bill that would slash $14 billion from the agency in order to fund aid to Israel.
Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Republican Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves won reelection on Tuesday, while Ohio voters approved a constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to an abortion and other forms of reproductive health care. In Virginia, Democrats swept legislative elections in a blow to GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
