Wisconsin Family Planning Clinics Facing Funding Cuts

Wednesday, July 9th, 2025 -- 2:00 PM

(Sarah Lehr, Wisconsin Public Radio) Family planning clinics in Wisconsin are facing funding cuts under the massive law signed by the President last week.

According to Sarah Lehr with Wisconsin Public Radio, for decades, another law known as the Hyde Amendment already banned using federal money to pay for almost all abortions.

But a provision in the President’s tax and spending plan known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act goes farther than that. It bans nonprofits that provide abortions from getting Medicaid reimbursements for one year.

That applies to any of the medical services offered by those clinics. Speaking to reporters last week, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin’s Chief Strategy Officer Michelle Velasquez said that while the full extent of the impact on Wisconsin isn’t yet known, the cutbacks will be significant. She warned that the changes will make it harder to provide a range of services, not just abortion.

“[The bill] would make Planned Parenthood essentially a prohibited entity, meaning it could not seek reimbursement from Medicaid for services like contraception care, gender affirming care, STI [sexually transmitted infection] treatment, testing, cancer screening,” Velasquez said at a news conference. “The list goes on and on.”

Planned Parenthood is suing the current administration over the Medicaid cuts. The organization says the new law could force nearly 200 of its clinics to close nationwide.

In Wisconsin, there are 21 Planned Parenthood clinics, and three of those locations provide abortions. In response to questions from WPR on Monday, a Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin spokesperson did not say whether the organization expects any of those Wisconsin locations to close because of the law.

“Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin is currently reviewing all options to continue to serve patients,” Planned Parenthood Wisconsin’s President and CEO Tanya Atkinson said in a statement.

But the nonprofit made clear it expects deep cuts if that provision of the law is allowed to stand. In Wisconsin, Planned Parenthood sees 50,000 patients a year, and about two-thirds of those people use Medicaid or BadgerCare, which is the state’s Medicaid program, according to Planned Parenthood.

“Let’s be clear: this isn’t about cost-cutting, it’s about cutting off care,” Atkinson said in a statement. “And it will fall hardest on low-income patients, people of color, young people, and those in medically underserved communities.”

Speaking to WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” on Monday, Dr. Abigail Cutler, a Madison-based OB-GYN, said because the bill would defund abortion clinics and force many to close, it’s being referred to as a “backdoor national abortion ban.”

“But honestly, the bill is way worse than a national abortion ban,” Cutler said. “Because at the same time it could make abortion inaccessible by forcing clinics to close, it also shuts down the clinics providing contraception. So with it, we’re taking away from people their ability to access birth control and contraception and prevent unwanted pregnancy in the first place.”

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