Federal court rules Wisconsin abortion law unconstitutional

A federal appeals court ruled on Monday that a Wisconsin law that requires abortion providers to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 kilometers is unconstitutional.

In the Wisconsin case, the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said a statute that curtails the constitutional right to an abortion, such as the Wisconsin and Texas laws, can not withstand challenge without evidence that it is justified by benefits. The appellate ruling upholds the ruling of a Madison district court judge who found the law unconstitutional and an undue burden on women seeking an abortion.

The lawsuit was filed by Planned Parenthood and Affiliated Medical Services. Almost a dozen states have imposed similar requirements on abortion providers, and the U.S. Supreme Court agreed last week to hear a challenge to Texas’ law in a case that could settle the issue nationally. “As the court affirmed, this law does nothing to enhance the health and safety of patients”, said Teri Huyck, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin (PPWI). In addition, 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 oppose Wisconsin’s admitting privileges statute. Therefore, the lawsuit maintained that the law amounted to an illegal restriction on abortions. He added that more women waiting for abortions would elevate the scope of danger, something that could make procedures progress into second trimester. One judge said there was no rational basis for the law.

“There are those who would criminalize all abortions, thus terminating the constitutional right asserted in Roe and Casey and a multitude of other decisions”, Posner wrote.

The third judge on the panel, David Hamilton, questioned how the state could suggest it was acceptable for women to travel to Chicago or Minneapolis if the law forced the Milwaukee clinic to close.