Updated on July 13, 2022 at 2:47PM.
After the decision from the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade, the decision to legalize or ban abortion was deferred to each state. And here in Wisconsin, a law from 1849 makes performing an abortion a felony, but is allowed in the case to save the mother.
The Evers administration is challenging this law. But it is uncertain what the future of reproductive rights will be in Wisconsin, especially for people of color
Stephanie Findley is a doctor of behavioral health at the Findley Medical Clinic. She shares more about how the overturning of Roe v. Wade has affected her clinic’s work and how this will disproportionately impact people of color.
"Women's health is about giving us a choice to decide what we choose to do with our body. Whether we decide to use birth control, we decide to have a baby, we decide to have an abortion. Those are family planning conversations that women shouldn't have to have with the world. That's something she should have with her doctor and with her partner," says Findley.
Now, Findley Medical Clinic will need to pivot because they won't be able to refer patients to a doctor locally for an abortion. The clinic will need to refer patients to Illinois in order to receive a proper and clean abortion.
Findley says the individuals in the Wisconsin state legislature are willing to, at whatever costs, prevent women from having access to the choice they deserve, that they fought for and had for 50 years.
Many of the patients her clinic sees are uninsured or in extreme poverty. According to Findley, many families cannot afford a mortgage, so they choose to have an abortion versus trying to figure out how they will work and raise their kids because they can't afford it.
Findley says the ban really puts women of color who are living in poverty in a deeper divide when it comes to health equity.
"I just want people to know that if they are still in need of abortions, that they can still call our office, we don't provide abortion services, but we do provide resources as to where people can go and we will continue to provide resources," says Findley.
