Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin will pause abortion appointments starting Oct. 1 because of President Trump’s tax and spending megabill, the organization said Thursday.
The move is intended to be temporary, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin President and CEO Tanya Atkinson said.
“Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin is—and always will be—focused on putting our patients first. Our commitment is unwavering: Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin will continue to provide the full spectrum of reproductive health care—including abortion—as soon and as we are able to,” Atkinson said in a statement.
A provision in Trump’s tax law will impose a one-year ban on Medicaid funding for nonprofit health care providers that provide abortions and received more than $800,000 from Medicaid in 2023.
Although Planned Parenthood is not specifically named in the statute, which went into effect July 4, Planned Parenthood leaders said their organization was deliberately targeted. The Medicaid provision will take effect Oct. 1.
Taxpayer money is already prohibited from covering most abortions under the Hyde Amendment. Instead, the law cuts reimbursement for other health services provided by Planned Parenthood and other health centers, such as cancer screenings and treatment for sexually transmitted infections.
In Wisconsin, Planned Parenthood said it is working to see as many patients as possible before the law takes effect.
“In the meantime, we are pursuing every available option—through the courts, through operations, and civic engagement,” Atkinson said. “To the patients who count on us: we are here for you. To our staff and supporters: thank you for standing with us. We remain dedicated to care—no matter what.”
A federal appeals court earlier this month cleared the way for the Trump administration to enforce the Planned Parenthood Medicaid provision, after it put on hold a preliminary nationwide injunction issued in July by a lower-court judge that blocked the measure from taking effect.
Planned Parenthood stressed that the legal landscape remains fluid and “ongoing litigation may once again change what we are allowed to do, and we are closely monitoring the courts and preparing to act the moment we are able to resume care.”
Thursday’s announcement comes a little more than two years after Planned Parenthood resumed providing abortions in Wisconsin, following a 15-month pause after U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
