Wisconsin Women Seek Abortions in Neighboring States

Caroline Jordan didn’t know she was pregnant until she was rushed to the hospital. Jordan had just gone through a major breakup and had been throwing up. She figured it was stress. When she was evaluated by her doctor, she found out she was pregnant by her ex-boyfriend.  

It was the middle of summer in Milwaukee, not even a month after Roe v. Wade was overturned. Abortion was now illegal in her home state. Jordan, whose name has been changed to protect her privacy, called the number for the Planned Parenthood Abortion Patient Navigator and was quickly set up with an appointment in Chicago facility. 

“The car ride was so difficult because I was sick from the pregnancy,” she said. “I was able to take the pills at a safe place with my friends a few days later. It was a horribly painful process.” 

Clinics in Chicago and surrounding border towns were still adjusting to the influx of patients from Wisconsin. Jordan was anxious thinking about the now-illegal medication she had to take. The long trip to the Illinois clinic didn’t ease her worry. She’s grateful there were any options at all. 

It’s been nearly six months since Roe was overturned. Because of Wisconsin’s 1849 Criminal Abortion Statute, abortion is no longer legal in the state at any point during pregnancy with no exceptions for rape, incest or other complications. The only way an individual could legally have an abortion in Wisconsin under this law would be if their life was at risk. Those who seek abortion care in the Badger State have to travel outside state borders.

According to a study by the Guttmacher Institute in 2017, there were 6,360 abortions performed in Wisconsin, though not all were provided to state residents. Some patients may have traveled from other states, and some Wisconsin residents may have traveled to another state for an abortion.

The Abortion Underground

“Abortion undergrounds” existed in the United States before Roe v. Wade. Now, these networks are going into hyperdrive to accommodate the needs of abortion seekers in 13 banned states, including Wisconsin. 

According to the National Library of Medicine, abortions were performed frequently in North America from 1600 to 1900. “During the colonial period, the legality of abortion varied from colony to colony and reflected the attitude of the European country which controlled the specific colony,” wrote Zoila Acevedo in her article, Abortion in Early America. “After 1860 stronger anti-abortion laws were passed and these laws were more vigorously enforced. As a result, many women began to utilize illegal underground abortion services. Although abortion was legalized in 1970, many women are still forced to obtain illegal abortion or to perform self-abortions.”

Wisconsin’s “abortion underground” is a network of organizers, health care providers and concerned citizens who have created a pathway for women in Wisconsin to get safe abortions. With the aid of several organizations, an abortion seeker can receive assistance including transportation to Illinois, Minnesota or states with the first available appointments, safe and free housing, transportation to and from health clinics, the cost of the procedures and transportation back to their homes in Wisconsin. Some organizations provide money to cover missed work hours, or even cover childcare costs. 

Brittany is a married 33-year-old mother of two living in Milwaukee.  She was four weeks along when she found she was pregnant. She and her husband already had children, their youngest was under one year old. It took them almost a week to decide to move forward with an abortion. She and her husband traveled to Rose Women’s Medical Center in Franklin Park, Ill. over Labor Day weekend so she wouldn’t have to miss a day of work.

They decided not to tell anyone about the procedure. 

“We kept it to ourselves because we wanted to avoid the judgment and ridicule from others,” said Brittany. “There is so much judgment behind it. I am pro choice, but many people are quick to judge or suggest adoption. There are so many children already waiting to be adopted, I didn’t want to add another in the mix.”

In Wisconsin, a state with major racial and economic disparities, the abortion ban only adds to the barriers people of color and low-income families face– economically, logistically, and in the long term health and wellness of their communities. 

“Reproductive rights, like other rights, are not just a matter of abstract theory,” wrote ​​Laurie Nsiah-Jefferson, in her study Reproductive Laws, Women of Color, and Low-Income Women from Berkeley Law. “How these rights can be exercised and which segments of the population will be allowed to exercise them must be considered in light of existing social and economic conditions. Therefore,

concerns about the effects of race, sex, and poverty, as well as law and technology, must be actively integrated into all work and discussions addressing reproductive health policy.”

The Midwest Access Coalition (MAC) is a non-profit organization that provides services for abortion seekers. While they don’t pay for the abortion procedure, the small group of workers and large group of volunteers coordinates and pays for travel, hotel stays, food, childcare and other costs. Sometimes this means putting money in a lockbox at an independent clinic in Chicago; other times it means scheduling and purchasing plane tickets. They can find housing options for patients who aren’t 21 or don’t have an ID. MAC serves people living in, traveling to or from Midwest states looking for abortion care. 

“At the end of the day, a lot of these areas of practical support are needed,” said Marie Khan, director of programs at Midwest Access Coalition. “Our efforts can especially support folks in rural communities, folks of lower income, people of color, our immigrant communities, folks that are parenting on their own, folks that don’t speak English. And we want those people to get abortions.”

“We have a lot of creative and safe and legal ways that we work with folks to have them get care,” said Khan. “When Roe fell, Wisconsin was one of the states that immediately went dark. So that’s a state where we’ve seen sustained folks reaching out.”

As someone who grew up in Wisconsin, it frustrates me how people just assume like, ‘Oh, if you’re in Milwaukee are fine. If you’re here, you’re fine.’ If you can’t get the health care you need, you’re not fine.

Marie Khan, director of programs at Midwest Access Coalition

The process of going out of state for an abortion can be agonizing. First, a patient has to make sure they’re not too far along. If they’re 26 weeks pregnant, they’d likely try to get an appointment in Washington D.C. at DuPont Clinic, one of the few clinics left in the country that performs abortions after 20 weeks. If they’re eligable for an in-clinic procedure or the abortion pill, they would have to call around clinics in neighboring states to book the first available appointment. Sometimes, patients have to book multiple appointments. Then they have to figure out how to get to the appointment– if they’re able to take off work, where they will stay while they’re out of state, who will look after their children and if they’ll need time to recover. That’s without considering any of the financial costs involved. 

Abortion Pills

In Wisconsin, it is illegal to have a telehealth appointment to be prescribed an abortion pill. To legally receive “plan C,” abortion seekers have to have an appointment out-of-state, even virtually. However, there are companies like Aid Access that will circumvent these laws and still send abortion pills wherever you are in the United States.

“When Roe happened, we joined communities of people, populations and people that have always had to access pills through mechanisms like these,” said Khan. “We’re out here expanding poverty rates because there’s people that aren’t going to be able to access abortion care can’t get those pills. And we’re out here forcing people to pivot and spend time and money in these areas that they wouldn’t normally have to. And we’re putting strains and weights on supplies from other parts of the world.”

There are several funds that can cover the cost of an abortion, along with other logistical costs. The “big three” include the Women’s Medical Fund, the Freedom Fund and Options Fund. 

The cost of abortion can vary greatly. Abortion pills can range in cost from $500 to $800. An in-clinic abortion in the first trimester can range from $600 to $800, and goes up the longer you are pregnant. Surgical abortions, either a suction aspiration abortion or a dilation and evacuation procedures, range from $500 to $2,000, depending on how far along you are. 

“Yes, we’re funded by grants, but we still are funded by over 50% individual donations, which is amazing,” said Khan. “It’s just amazing to see that so many people come together and want to support our communities.”

The Future of Abortion in Wisconsin

Alexis Kramschuster, 32, had abortion access on her mind throughout her entire pregnancy. She and her husband got married in 2018 and after two years of trying to get pregnant, taking tests and exploring fertility procedures, Kramshuster got pregnant in February of 2022. She was almost five months along when Roe was overturned in July, and abortion became illegal in her state of Wisconsin. 

“Being pregnant made me really feel even more compassion for people who are pregnant and don’t want to be,” said Kramschuster. “I had a pretty positive pregnancy, but still, I frequently thought, wow, what would it be like to have to be doing all of this against my will, essentially being forced to go through all of this?”

According to the Guttmacher Institute, 59% of abortions in the country are obtained by people who already have children. For Brittany and her husband, baring the responsibility of parenthood supported their decide to get an abortion.

“We both knew we weren’t ready,” said Brittany.  “We couldn’t afford it at the time, we didn’t have room in our house. We didn’t want to bring a child into this world we couldn’t support.”

In a referendum during Wisconsin’s midterm election, 85% of Dane County voters said they wanted to repeal the 1849 abortion ban. Both Governor Tony Evers and Senator Ron Johnson agree that a statewide referendum is the best way to settle the future of abortion in Wisconsin. 

Days after Roe was overturned, Evers and Kaul announced a new lawsuit challenging Wisconsin’s criminal abortion ban. They argue that Wisconsin statutes contain two sets of criminal laws that are in direct conflict, and therefore the older 1849 law has been superseded and should no longer be enforced. 

The Supreme Court decision has made Wisconsin’s women less safe, less equal and less free.

Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul

“The Supreme Court decision has made Wisconsin’s women less safe, less equal and less free,” said Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul in a press conference. “It is so important that we empower women and their families to make these decisions, not politicians.”

Every Wisconsin woman deserves access to safe and legal abortion, that’s why we’ve filed a lawsuit challenging Wisconsin’s 1800’s-era criminal abortion ban. You can learn more about the lawsuit here: https://t.co/XrppgvBNtJ pic.twitter.com/YDFmuoIPSi

— Attorney General Josh Kaul (@WisDOJ) June 30, 2022

As women like Alexis and Brittany reckon with the state of abortion today, the thought of of their children growing up in the post-Roe era adds to their pain and frustration.

“I feel like we are moving backwards instead of forwards,” said Brittany.  “My daughters won’t have the same rights their grandparents did, and it’s sad. It’s their body and they should be able to choose and not have to worry about where they can go, as I did.”