Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin challenges state abortion restrictions in lawsuit

Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin filed a lawsuit on September 10, 2026, challenging state laws that restrict abortion access. The lawsuit, filed in the Wisconsin Circuit Court for Dane County, targets statutes requiring a 24-hour waiting period and restricting abortion procedures to certified physicians. Plaintiffs argue these restrictions violate liberty, bodily autonomy, and equal protection rights under the Wisconsin Constitution, following the state Supreme Court's July 2025 decision overturning an 1849 abortion ban.

Planned Parenthood Wisconsin lawsuit

• ▪Individual plaintiffs joining Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin in the September 10, 2026, lawsuit include advanced practice registered nurses Natalee Hartwig and Josephine Krizek, advanced registered nurse practitioner Katherine Simons, and Allison Linton, M.D.
• ▪The lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin on September 10, 2026, names the Wisconsin Medical Examining Board and statewide district attorneys as defendants.
• ▪Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin filed a lawsuit on September 10, 2026, in the Wisconsin Circuit Court for Dane County challenging the constitutionality of two state abortion statutes.

Physician-only abortion provision

• ▪Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin argues in its September 10, 2026, lawsuit that the physician-only restriction prevents qualified advanced practice clinicians, advanced practice registered nurses, and physician assistants from providing abortion care.
• ▪Plaintiff Natalee Hartwig, an advanced practice registered nurse, provides abortions at a Planned Parenthood location in Illinois but is barred from doing so in Wisconsin under the state's physician-only restriction.
• ▪Wisconsin law restricts performing abortions to certified physicians, making it a Class I felony for nonphysicians to perform or induce the procedure.

24-hour waiting period requirement

• ▪Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin's September 10, 2026, lawsuit argues that the state's 24-hour waiting period increases burdens and costs for patients who have already decided to seek an abortion.
• ▪Wisconsin law mandates a 24-hour waiting period between the time a physician obtains a patient's informed consent and performs an abortion.

Constitutional liberty claims

• ▪The September 10, 2026, lawsuit asks the Wisconsin Circuit Court for Dane County to declare the challenged abortion statutes unconstitutional and permanently enjoin defendants from enforcing them.
• ▪Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin argues in its September 10, 2026, lawsuit that the physician-only restriction and the 24-hour waiting period violate the rights of Wisconsin women to liberty and bodily autonomy under Article I, Section 1 of the Wisconsin Constitution.

Equal protection violations

• ▪Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin argues in its September 10, 2026, lawsuit that the 24-hour waiting period violates equal protection because women are not required to wait before making decisions to continue a pregnancy.
• ▪The September 10, 2026, lawsuit alleges that the challenged Wisconsin statutes violate equal protection rights by treating women differently from men and abortion patients differently from those seeking other pregnancy-related health care.

1849 abortion ban overturn

• ▪The Wisconsin Supreme Court's July 2025 decision overturning the 1849 abortion ban noted that subsequent legislation governing legal abortions included the two statutes challenged in the September 10, 2026, lawsuit.
• ▪The Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down an 1849 state abortion ban in July 2025, ruling that the law had been implicitly repealed by subsequent legislation.

Debatable claims

• ▪Wisconsin's 24-hour abortion waiting period is unconstitutional
• ▪Wisconsin should allow qualified non-physician clinicians to perform abortions