MADISON, WI –– Today, Wisconsin State Senator Kelda Roys joined local physicians and medical students at a roundtable to highlight how Trump-era and Republican-led attacks on abortion access are harming families, impacting health care providers, and undermining the education of a generation of medical students in our country.
Today’s event is part of Free & Just’s “Summer Storytelling Series” featuring patient storytellers, local partners, and lawmakers in communities across the country highlighting how Trump-era and Republican-led attacks on abortion access are ending women’s lives and harming families — even in states where abortion remains legal.
At the event, local students and health care providers shed light on how attacks on reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy make it challenging to provide the patient care that patients need and deserve.
“Earlier this summer, the Supreme Court here in Wisconsin struck down an 1849 abortion ban that had rendered abortion unavailable in our state for over a year after the Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade. This was an important step forward for Wisconsinites – however, abortion is still quite heavily restricted here,” said State Senator Kelda Roys (D-Madison), who co-authored the Reproductive Freedom Act, which would ensure patients and doctors in Wisconsin have the power to make important health decisions free from political interference. “Republicans in Washington just passed their deeply unpopular, and frankly horribly offensive budget bill that is going to impact access to all types of health care, particularly reproductive health care. The impact on our ability to meet the needs of Wisconsinites is extreme, but there is also a tremendous human cost.”
“The evidence is very clear: Restricting access to reproductive health care harms individuals, families, and communities,” said Amy Williamson, MPP, who serves as the Associate Director of the Collaborative for Reproductive Equity. Williamson shared concerns that cuts to Medicaid and efforts to close down Planned Parenthood clinics in Wisconsin and across the country will fuel a public health crisis, and leave patients without access to basic health care.
“While the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the 1849 abortion ban was a relief in a lot of ways, it does not mean that the state legislature couldn’t pass an abortion ban in the future, so our right to both access and provide abortion in our state is not protected,” said Dr. Abby Cutler, an Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the UW School of Medicine & Public Health. “Ultimately, this fundamental right is tied to the political winds, and politics and medicine do not belong together.”
“As a medical student, I am constantly thinking about the legal landscape around reproductive health care. I have to really think about if I want to do my residency in Wisconsin or practice medicine here,” said Morgan Homme, a member of UWSMPH Med Students for Choice. “It’s hard to grapple with because I grew up here, my family is here, and I love this state. But, if they are not going to allow me to practice the full scope of care, I really can’t limit my training.”
“When I started about the scope of reproductive care, I came to realize how far removed laws restricting abortion are from actually happens in the clinic,” said Emily Chou, a member of UWSMPH Med Students for Choice. “Patients are usually very clear and confident in their decision, but Wisconsin takes that choice out of the hands of the patient as if to say ‘we know better than you.’ Ultimately, these laws just make it harder for people to access the care they want and need.”
You can watch the event here. If you are interested in speaking with any of the participants in the press event, please contact malachi@freeandjust.us.
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