Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin has filed a new lawsuit arguing that two state abortion restrictions infringe on personal freedoms.

Plaintiffs say they aim to establish a right to the procedure under the state constitution.

The lawsuit, filed in Dane County Circuit Court, argues that a state law requiring a 24-hour waiting period between an initial appointment and an abortion procedure is not medically necessary. It also argues against a state law that restricts abortion care, including medicated abortions, to licensed physicians as opposed to advanced practice clinicians.

Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin President Tanya Atkinson said the lawsuit is about allowing Wisconsinites to make reproductive healthcare decisions without “unnecessary government interference.”

“This case is bigger than any one restriction, it’s about whether our constitutional freedoms belong to each of us, or whether the government can make our most personal decisions for us. It’s about whether liberty is simply a word written in our constitution, or a promise that protects us in our actual lives,” Atkinson said at a press briefing.

The new lawsuit comes on the heels of the state Supreme Court’s ruling in July 2025 that a 1849 state law banning abortion could not be enforced. That same day, the Court dismissed a lawsuit from Planned Parenthood challenging the constitutionality of the 1849 ban.

Diane Welsh, serving as legal counsel for Planned Parenthood, said the constitutionality of a right to an abortion in Wisconsin is “still very much a live question” following the court’s actions last summer.

“We think it will be successful because we think the language of our constitution, which guarantees us all persons life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness, includes the right to bodily autonomy, which includes the very important decision about whether or when to have children,” Welsh said.

The lawsuit lists Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne as the defendant. Welsh said that Ozanne has been named the representative for all Wisconsin district attorneys, as anyone who is not a licensed physician faces a criminal penalty for administering an abortion. 

Wisconsin Right to Life Executive Director Heather Weininger criticized the lawsuit, saying it contradicted previous assertions that abortion was “a matter between a woman and her doctor.”

“Planned Parenthood isn’t asking to protect a private decision. It’s asking judges to hand it a permanent constitutional shield for its abortion-first business model,” Weininger said in a news release. “You cannot invoke our state Constitution’s right to life to defend an industry built on ending lives.”

Dem gubernatorial nominee David Crowley and fellow Dems applauded the lawsuit, while GOP gubernatorial nominee Tom Tiffany vowed to uphold current state abortion laws.

“Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin’s landmark lawsuit is a reminder that Wisconsin must elect a governor who will protect reproductive rights and keep politicians out of private medical decisions,” Crowley said in a statement. 

He went on to say Tiffany “supported banning abortion nationwide at zero weeks” and would bring his “extreme agenda to Wisconsin.”

Tiffany did not directly address Planned Parenthood’s lawsuit in a statement, but said he would uphold existing abortion law, which allows the procedure until 20 weeks after fertilization, unless the mother’s life is in danger. 

He attacked Crowley for voting against a so-called “born alive” bill pushed by Wisconsin Republicans during Crowley’s time in the Legislature and said the Milwaukee County executive would “take Wisconsin from where we are today to one of the most extreme abortion policies in the country.”