How Legal Decisions on Abortion Pill Access Could Impact Wisconsin
One third of abortions in state use pills ordered from out of state.
Mifepristone. Photo by flickr user Robin Marty. (CC BY 2.0)
A recent decision from a federal appeals court could impact Wisconsin residents looking to get the abortion pill mifepristone from providers in other states.
A Friday decision from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals restricted the mailing of the abortion pill mifepristone. On Monday, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito temporarily halted that ruling for one week.
Currently in Wisconsin, mifepristone is available, but physicians are required to dispense the pills in person, according to Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin. State law prohibits residents from accessing abortion pills through telehealth visits.
Even so, Wisconsin residents can still get abortion pills mailed to them through “shield law providers,” according to Jenny Higgins, director of the Collaborative for Reproductive Equity at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“The shield laws enable out-of-state clinicians to mail medication abortion pills to patients in states like Wisconsin with restrictions or bans,” Higgins said.
In the first half of 2025, around one-third of abortions in Wisconsin were done through abortion medications that were ordered through out of state “shield law providers,” according to data from the organization #WeCount.
Shield laws came about after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
“Shield laws, for the first time, allowed a potential legal way for people to order pills by mail,” Higgins said. “And we have evidence that hundreds of people in our state are doing that every month.”
A protester in support of abortion access raises a sign in the air Saturday, May 14, 2022, at the Wisconsin state Capitol in Madison, Wis. Angela Major/WPR
Higgins said the recent legal decisions do not impact brick-and-mortar abortion providers across Wisconsin.
“So the shield law providers are what are impacted by these most recent decisions, not medication abortion care offered at brick and mortar facilities,” Higgins said.
Mifepristone has been used by more than 7.5 million people in the U.S., according to Planned Parenthood. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says mifepristone is safe to use “when used as indicated and directed and consistent with the Mifepristone Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) Program.”
The medication is typically used in a regimen with misoprostol. Mifepristone can also be a tool for people experiencing a miscarriage, according to Planned Parenthood.
In response to the court of appeals decision, Tanya Atkinson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, said the group’s priority is “making sure patients have clear, accurate information and can continue to access care without confusion or delay.”
“For patients in Wisconsin, this decision does not change how care is currently provided,” Atkinson said. “State law already requires in-person visits, and our health centers remain open and providing care.”
Rachel Rebouché, a law professor at the University of Texas School of Law, said the parties in the Louisiana case must file their responses by Thursday.
“The (U.S.) Supreme Court will decide whether or not it should continue the pause while it considers whether or not the Fifth Circuit was right or wrong,” Rebouché said.
Wisconsin Right to Life responded to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in a statement on Monday.
“Women deserve better than a mail-order abortion from a physician in another state who does not know them and cannot adequately assess their condition,” said Heather Weininger, executive director of Wisconsin Right to Life.
Here’s how recent legal decisions around abortion pill access could impact Wisconsinites was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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