Patients in Wisconsin get abortion pills via telehealth from providers in other states

Obtaining abortion medication via telehealth is currently banned in Wisconsin. However, according to a new report by #WeCount, residents are still able to get the medication from providers outside of the state who are protected by what are known as “shield laws.” 

Eighteen states have telehealth abortion shield laws that protect providers from the legal consequences of prescribing abortion medication for patients who live in states that ban or restrict abortion.

#WeCount is a project of the nonprofit Society of Family Planning, which tracks data to support research on abortion and contraception in the United States. According to the report, released in October, between July 2023 and June 2024, licensed clinicians in states with shield laws prescribed and sent abortion medication via telehealth to patients in Wisconsin between 100 and 160 times a month. 

Following the June 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade, an 1849 Wisconsin law interpreted as a ban on abortion went back into effect. Planned Parenthood stopped providing abortion care for over a year. In December 2023, Dane County Circuit Judge Diane Schlipper ruled the 1849 law applies to feticide, not to consensual abortion, and abortion services in the state resumed.

Abortion remains legal in Wisconsin until 21 weeks and six days of pregnancy while the state Supreme Court deliberates in an appeal of Schlipper’s ruling. 

However, a law banning the prescribing of abortion medication using telemedicine was enacted in 2012 under Republican Gov. Scott Walker, and that restriction remains in effect. 

Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin currently provides surgical and medication abortions at clinics in Madison and Milwaukee and medication abortions at its clinic in Sheboygan. 

Dr. Jenny Higgins, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology and the director of the Collaborative for Reproductive Equity at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told the Wisconsin Independent that Wisconsinites place orders for abortion medications via telehealth because they may not be able to get to a brick-and-mortar health care clinic.

According to the Guttmacher Institute, women living below the federal poverty line are six times more likely to need an abortion than women with higher incomes.

“Most people who need abortion live on low incomes; it’s really an economic justice issue more than anything,” Higgins said, adding that Planned Parenthood and other clinics make it affordable compared to other outpatient procedures, but the cost can still be $500 or $600.

“That amount is insurmountable for folks who are facing eviction or food insecurity or houselessness or other issues,” Higgins said. “So shield law providers tend to offer more affordable care. They can be, like, a sliding scale up to $100 to $150, $200, so comparatively it’s a more affordable option.” 

In addition to the ban on medication abortion prescriptions through telehealth, there’s a long list of other restrictions on abortion in Wisconsin. 

Advanced care practitioners such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants cannot perform abortions or prescribe abortion medication. Medicaid does not cover abortion in Wisconsin, and minors must have the consent of a parent or guardian. The state also requires that all patients observe a 24-hour waiting period after seeing a physician before obtaining an abortion, and a patient must see the same doctor for both required visits.

Higgins said the biggest barrier to abortion care for patients, outside of the current legal restrictions, is the fact that the procedure is not required to be covered by health insurance. A federal provision known as the Hyde Amendment prohibits the use of local, state, or federal funding for abortion services in 19 states, including Wisconsin, and Washington, D.C.

In Wisconsin, unless an abortion is needed to save a patient’s life, the pregnancy was the result of rape or incest, or the pregnancy could cause serious harm to a patient’s health, BadgerCare and Wisconsin Medicaid will not cover it. 

“Cost is just such a big deal that we don’t pay enough attention to. So the legal right to abortion is critical, brick-and-mortar facilities are critical, but unless we dismantle these insurance restrictions, then abortion will remain out of reach for many,” Higgins said.