Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin stopped providing abortions starting October 1, 2025, even though abortion remains legal in the state. The cause is due to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (HR 1, Section 71113) that threatens all Medicaid reimbursements for one year to large nonprofit providers that offer abortion care, even if they also provide other services. By pausing abortions, PPWI aims to protect Medicaid-funded care like cancer screenings, birth control, and STI testing for tens of thousands of patients, most of whom are insured through Medicaid.
Update - October 29, 2025: Planned Parenthood of WI has resumed its abortion care scheduling after dropping its designation as an "essential community provider." By doing so, the organization no longer qualifies as a "prohibited entity" under HR 1, Section 71113.
Why it matters
Federal money doesn’t fund abortions—the Hyde Amendment already bans them and has since 1977. Even so, HR 1 would stop all Medicaid payments to the Planned Parenthood clinics in every state that offer abortion care, even if abortion is legal in that state. PPWI’s pause is a stopgap to keep Medicaid-funded care available while lawsuits and state responses play out. Early data points from Wisconsin predict service cuts and patient delays if funding actually disappears.
Two independent clinics in Milwaukee do not rely on Medicaid dollars and will continue to provide abortion care in Wisconsin:
Once it pauses abortions, Safar said Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin will be referring people to Care for All and Affiliated Medical Services in Milwaukee, as well as to Planned Parenthood clinics in Minnesota and Illinois.
Background
Planned Parenthood has warned that about half its clinics that provide abortion could be closed due to a ban on Medicaid funding that could be used for services other than abortion. Despite a temporary block on further action by the government to withhold funds, a federal appeals court in September said the government could halt the payments while a multistate lawsuit challenging the law moves ahead.
Critics of the HR 1 provision see these Medicaid cuts as not only a backdoor abortion ban for states where abortion is legal, but also as an attack on lower-income women who rely on Planned Parenthood services for everyday healthcare.
Proponents of the cuts believe that all abortion care should be banned, and that the HR 1 provision helps to limit the ability of abortion clinics to provide these services, even if abortion is legal in a given state.
Resources
Minnesota Public Radio - Wisconsin Planned Parenthood resumes offering abortions after a nearly monthlong pause
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