What Wisconsin women who seek abortion services need to know
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
May 2, 2023
Wisconsin is one of several states that has a near-complete ban on abortion services.
But this does not mean that women have no options.
Knowing what’s available is particularly important in cities like Milwaukee, which has a majority-minority population. Data shows that women of color are disproportionately affected by abortion bans.
Here’s what you need to know
Do crisis pregnancy centers help women or mislead them?
The CapTimes
November 30, 2022
“Wisconsin can be viewed through two lenses: pre- and post-Dobbs v. Jackson.
‘On June 24, the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs effectively overturned Roe v. Wade, the case that ensured a federal right to terminate a pregnancy. With that decision, the state’s 1849 criminal abortion ban went into effect.
‘…But barring abortion in the state is far more than a talking point and did more than turn voters out to the polls. As restrictions on the procedure have grown, crisis pregnancy centers, or CPCs, have attracted more attention and funding. The primary purpose of these organizations is counseling clients against ending their pregnancies, abortion rights advocates say.
‘While the mission of many CPCs have not changed since June 24, the stakes are higher.”
Anti-abortion leaders want bigger role for
crisis pregnancy centers. Critics say they
mislead, misinform, pressure women.
Post Crescent
November 16, 2022
“In the months since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, anti-abortion proponents in
Wisconsin have painted the state’s nearly 100 crisis pregnancy centers as integral to supporting women
dealing with unexpected or unwanted pregnancies.”
Queering Doula Care
OurLives Wisconsin Magazine
November/December 2022 Issue
“As a doula, Freund provides continual emotional, physical, and resource support for people through all of their life’s options, from pregnancy and birth, to adoption, pregnancy loss, abortion, gender-affirming reproductive care, and end-of-life care. They have heard a lot of misconceptions about doulas: that doulas are only for homebirths, that doulas are ‘hippies,’ that doulas aren’t advocates for clients, and that doulas are all cisgender women…
‘Basic rights to body autonomy and the right to abortion shifted significantly in 2022. When the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the landmark Roe vs. Wade decision hit the news, Freund started getting calls. Freund had faced their own ectopic pregnancy in 2020, so the issues of the right to abortion care “to protect the life of the mother” hit immediately home to them…
‘Ware is a full-spectrum doula and reproductive justice advocate who serves as the pregnancy options call line coordinator for Pregnancy Options Wisconsin: Education, Resources & Support, Inc., or P.O.W.E.R.S. She works with trained volunteers who take calls from people who want practical support for abortion resources. ‘I’m the front line,’ she explained. ‘When people call, I’m the first person they speak to for resources and support. That’s the first part of my job. The second part is coordinating volunteers who take shifts to be available to answer people’s questions.’”
POWERS on WUWM Milwaukee, Lake Effect
WUWM Milwaukee, Lake Effect
November 2, 2022
Health agencies work to inform UW-Madison students on abortion access options
WMTV NBC15
September 2, 2022
“With classes set to begin soon, health agencies are working to help university students understand what their options are when it comes to abortion access.
UW-Madison students can no longer receive an abortion at a clinic near campus- many are turning to UW Madison Health services guidance. Roe v. Wade was overturned in June and University Health Services Executive Director Jake Baggott says they’re now receiving more questions.
‘You know, it’s really more about where we can refer students who want to seek services that aren’t available in Wisconsin. and so there are certainly surrounding states and other locations, and students’ individual circumstances may really affect or influence where they go if they if they want to seek services that aren’t available in Wisconsin,’ said Baggott.
He says unplanned pregnancies can change a student’s ability to complete their academic goals.”
Abortion Action Fair informs and advocates in Madison
Channel3000
August 29, 2022
“At the Abortion Action Fair Sunday, the Socialist Feminist Collective of Madison brought together many groups to provide information and resources about abortions in Wisconsin.
According to Katie from the Collective, the event’s goal was “To make sure people know what their options are about what this new world is that we’re navigating legally.”
Reactions from activists following overturning of Roe v Wade
Wisconsin Public Radio
August 18, 2022
“When the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade on June 24, 2022, some began celebrating and others protesting. A pro-life activist and a pro-choice activist join us to talk about their reactions following the overturning of Roe v Wade and how services in Wisconsin are changing for those who are pregnant.”
POWERS Press Release – Trust Pregnant People Billboards
January 11, 2021
Introducing POWERS
The Capital City HUES
October 21, 2019
“302. The number of families that have trusted me to accompany them through pregnancy, labor, birth, and the postpartum and newborn time. They allowed me to be their midwife — to help usher them into parenting, to help hold their baby to their chest, nurse them, love them, help them not only survive, but also to thrive. A number of those families have been Black and Brown families, families of color, who face horrific birth disparities in the hospitals in Dane County.”
“Some of my families, regardless of race, returned to me for care, years later, to seek medical counsel or emotional support after an abortion — or a pregnancy release, as some of us call it. I am lucky to be called to this work as a midwife, and I never forget the honor that it is to uphold the dignity and bodily autonomy of the families I serve.”
Ingrid Andersson: The anniversary of the Hyde Amendment is a ‘sinister day’ in Wisconsin
The Cap Times
October 4, 2019
“Remember the Gothic story by Robert Louis Stevenson, ‘The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’? How a brilliant doctor, Henry Jekyll, drinks a serum that makes him turn into the sinister and ruthless Mr. Hyde? This week, you might be reminded of the story, because Sept. 30 was the 43rd anniversary of the sinister and ruthless Hyde Amendment.”
“In the words of then-Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, ‘The Hyde Amendment is designed to deprive poor and minority women of the constitutional right to choose abortion.'”
Doula services play vital role – opinion
Wisconsin State Journal
August 26, 2019
“I was encouraged by thoughtful coverage of full-spectrum doula services in Wisconsin in the Aug. 9 State Journal article ‘Group offers ‘abortion doulas.’’ The new organization, POWERS, among others such as Maroon Calabash in Milwaukee, is a bold and hopeful step toward reproductive justice and community building in a society with huge inequalities in access to health care and an unjustifiable lack of bodily autonomy.
“The article correctly stated that ‘abortion doulas can’t be with women during in-clinic abortions’ at Planned Parenthood clinics. But abortion doulas are welcome to attend the entire procedure with their clients at Affiliated Medical Services in Milwaukee.
“As a doula, I have seen firsthand the importance of this continuity of care in improving both physical and emotional safety, as well as perceived experience of an event. Continuous presence and person-centered support from full-spectrum doulas are especially important for those folks who seek abortion out of desperation or necessity in a world where lives, relationships and systemic inequalities are complex and interwoven.
Every person deserves open-hearted, non-judgmental support that meets them where they are at.”
POWERS on the 8am Buzz
WORT Radio
August 16, 2019
New Madison group offers ‘abortion doulas,’ supports pregnancy options
Wisconsin State Journal
August 9, 2019
“A new Madison-based group is offering “abortion doula” services and a pregnancy call line supporting all options for pregnant women, to counter crisis pregnancy centers that don’t support abortion, group leaders say. The group — known as Pregnancy Options Wisconsin: Education, Resources and Support, or POWERS — includes a dozen doctors, nurses, midwives, activists and doulas, which are best known for providing emotional and physical comfort during births. The services are ‘a way to say to all pregnant people in Wisconsin that they deserve all pregnancy options,’ said Ingrid Andersson, a nurse midwife and a leader of the group. ‘Their body is not a shame. Their body is not a problem. The problem is our government and culture, that make some health care hard to access for some people.'”
POWERS on the 6pm Local News
WORT Radio
August 5, 2019
New network offers resources for all pregnancy options, including abortion
The Isthmus
August 1, 2019
”About two years ago, Ashley Hartman Annis had an abortion. While most may want to keep the choice of ending a pregnancy to themselves, she didn’t. ‘I had a network of friends who I told that [the abortion] was happening and I invited them over throughout the process while I was passing the contents of conception,’ says Hartman Annis. ‘It was really important to have people around me who knew what was happening and knew what I was going through and where there to physically support me.'”
Open Letter – Medication Abortion Access Should be Based on Science Not Politics
Open Letter to the U.S. FDA and U.S. Policy Makers, signed by medical and reproductive justice leaders across America
June 2019
“If the laws and regulations that determine the terms of abortion access in the United States were
based on science – not politics – medication abortion would be widely available in the United States without medically unnecessary restrictions on distribution. Abortion with quality pills delivered by mail directly to one’s home with instructions for use in multiple languages and access to medical counseling and back-up, if needed, should be one of an array of abortion options available, ensuring everyone who needs to end a pregnancy has the freedom and control to do so in the way that best fits their lives…”