The liberal-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down the state’s 1849 abortion ban July 2, but Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin (PPWI) says changes to Medicaid in President Donald Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ could keep reproductive care away from many Wisconsinites.
The law bars Planned Parenthood and other organizations providing reproductive health care from billing Medicaid — otherwise known as BadgerCare in Wisconsin — as insurance, taking services away from thousands of Wisconsinities, including 60% of PPWI’s patients. Notably, a long-lasting federal rule prohibits using Medicaid money for abortions.
On July 7, a judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from cutting Medicaid funding away from Planned Parenthood untilthe case is heard on July 21.
“If this law is implemented, many will have nowhere else to go. Health centers across Wisconsin — especially in rural areas — are already stretched thin and cannot absorb this sudden loss in care,” Tanya Atkinson, PPWI’s CEO said in a statement.
Patients using BadgerCare can seek health care from a different provider that accepts Medicaid as insurance, but not every provider does. And while some do, most providers only accept a certain number of Medicaid patients, PPWI told The Daily Cardinal
Other federally-qualified health centers who also bill BadgerCare as insurance would need to increase capacity by more than 100% to accommodate the patients Planned Parenthood currently sees if they are unable to continue care, according to a Guttmacher Institute study.
Wisconsin’s 1849 ban superseded
On July 2, the liberal-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down the states’ 1849 law banning abortion — including vicitims of rape and incest — ruling 4-3 along ideological lines that the ban is superseded by more recent laws which criminalize the procedure after a fetus can survive outside the womb.
“We are exactly where we were prior to the Dobbs decision,” PPWI told the Cardinal, saying the ruling provides more clarity for Wisconsinites around the procedure.
In 1973, when the Roe v Wade decision legalized abortion across the United States, it took precedent over Wisconsin’s 1849 law. When Roe was overturned in 2022, confusion over what took precedent in Wisconsin led Attorney General Josh Kaul to file a lawsuit, arguing restrictions put in place when Roe was in effect overruled the 1849 ban.
Abortion services in Wisconsin paused for 15 months until a preliminary ruling by Dane County Circuit Court Judge Diane Schlipper in 2023 interpreted the 1849 law applied only to feticide — killing the fetus without the consent of the mother — but not abortion, giving Planned Parenthood enough “clarity” to begin providing abortion care again.
“What this [ruling] really means is that… Wisconsinites can still access abortion care, and that abortion, while restricted, is still legal in Wisconsin, and is still care that they can receive in the state of Wisconsin,” PPWI told the Cardinal.
During Roe, state lawmakers passed restrictions on abortion services including a 20 week abortion ban with exceptions for the life of the mother. Restrictions also required women to give written consent, get an ultrasound and wait 24 hours before performing the procedure. These restrictions are currently in place.
Clara Strecker is the state news editor for The Daily Cardinal. She previously served as copy chief. Clara has written in-depth on the 2025 Wisconsin Supreme Court race, the 2024 presidential election and abortion rights. She will spend the summer interning with WisPolitics. Follow her on X at @clara_strecker.
