Planned Parenthood resumes abortion care

Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin will resume providing abortion care after pausing services at the start of October due to the Republican tax-and-spending law.

The family planning provider will continue to serve Medicaid patients too.

“We’ve stood up to relentless attacks on reproductive health for decades,” CEO Tanya Atkinson said in a statement. “We are not backing down now.”

President Donald Trump’s tax-and-spending law bars Medicaid payments to certain organizations that provide abortion care for one year. Planned Parenthood Federation of America and a coalition of state attorneys general, including Attorney General Josh Kaul, are challenging that.

In a filing last month, attorneys on behalf of the Department of Health and Human Services said that family planning organizations could continue billing Medicaid by ceasing offering abortion, relinquishing their tax-exempt status or dropping their essential community provider status.

Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin relinquished its essential community provider designation, so it’s not barred from Medicaid, according to its statement.

A spokeswoman said patients could begin scheduling appointments as of noon Monday.

This article first appeared in the Wisconsin Health News daily email newsletter. Sign up for your free trial here.