Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin Back in Court Fighting for Health and Safety of Wisconsin Women

MADISON — This week, Planned Parenthood filed a legal brief in response to the Walker Administration’s appeal of the Seventh Circuit Court’s  decision that found Governor Walker’s 2013 law to restrict abortion access (Act 37) unconstitutional. The appeal comes on the heels of a strongly worded, in-depth decision issued March 20 by Judge William Conley in which he called the Walker-backed admitting privileges requirement “a solution in search of a problem” with “no documented medical need or purpose.”

“The only reasonable conclusion is that the legislation was motivated by an improper purpose, namely to restrict the availability of abortion services in Wisconsin,” Judge Conley further stated. The Wisconsin Medical Society, the Wisconsin Hospital Association, the Wisconsin Public Health Association, the Wisconsin Academy of Family Physicians, the Wisconsin Association of Local Health Departments and Boards, and the Wisconsin Alliance for Women’s Health all opposed Act 37.

Despite this opposition and Judge Conley’s conclusive findings, Governor Walker has authorized the use of valuable taxpayer dollars to appeal Judge Conley’s decision in his continued effort to block access to safe and legal abortion in Wisconsin.

“It is troubling to see that Governor Walker is once again going against the advice of medical and legal experts in his relentless pursuit of barring women’s access to safe and legal abortion,” said Tanya Atkinson, PPAWI Executive Director. “It’s obvious Governor Walker will stop at nothing, including wasting valuable taxpayer money to advance his extreme agenda that threatens women’s health and safety.”

Since taking office, Governor Walker has signed four abortion restrictions into law and recently promised to sign a ban on abortion that is now pending in the state Legislature.

“Abortion is a deeply personal and often complex decision that should be left to a woman and her family with the counsel of her doctor,” said Atkinson. “Abortion restrictions take away the opportunity for a woman to make private personal decisions without government interference.”

The medical community agrees that requiring admitting privileges does not increase patient safety. Legal abortion is one of the safest medical procedures in the United States. Admitting privileges do not hasten a patient’s care and are not required for any other medical procedure.

Planned Parenthood insists on the highest standards of patient care and has rigorous safety guidelines in place, informed by the most trusted medical knowledge, as well as professional and scientific organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

“Our top priority is patient safety,” said Atkinson. “We’ll continue to fight these attacks on access to safe and legal abortion in Wisconsin.”

Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin is the advocacy arm of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin. PPAWI engages in legislative and educational activity and works to elect candidates to office that support these goals.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.