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.
The federal judge assigned to the election fraud case against former President Donald Trump has stood out as one of the toughest punishers of rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attack fueled by Trump's baseless claims of a stolen election. She has also ruled against him before.
The number of migrants crossing the dangerous Darien gap that connects South and Central America has reached a record high.
The Pentagon is pulling back about 1,100 active military troops from the U.S.-Mexico border.
Vice President Kamala Harris rejected an invitation from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to debate new standards in Black history education in that state.
Clinics in Indiana have stopped abortion services ahead of the state's enactment of a total ban.
Vice President Kamala Harris has publicly declined Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' invitation to debate new standards in Black history education in Florida.
New Jersey is mourning the loss of Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, who passed away at the age of 71.
Trump is facing a new set of felony charges after a federal grand jury indicted him on crimes related to his attempt to overturn the 2020 election.
The Justice Department's four-count indictment Tuesday accuses the former president of assaulting the underpinnings of democracy in a frantic but ultimately failed effort to cling to power.
Thousands of Marines backed by advanced U.S. fighter jets and warships are slowly building up a presence in the Persian Gulf. It’s a sign that while America’s wars in the region may be finished, its conflict with Iran over its advancing nuclear program continues to worsen, with no solutions in sight.
