Former CEO of shuttered Milwaukee abortion clinic opens new site in Rockford

Devi Shastri, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
·3 min read
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A Wisconsin doctor who is the former owner of a shuttered Milwaukee abortion clinic has officially opened a new location just over the state line in Illinois.

The Rockford Family Planning Center saw its first patient last week, said Dr. Dennis Christensen, a mostly-retired OB/GYN who is based in Madison.

The clinic offers medication abortions. Doctors working there can also provide referrals for second trimester surgical abortions ― medication abortion is only available up to 11 weeks into a pregnancy ― in addition to options counseling, pregnancy confirmation and dating, and prenatal care.

Christensen and other Wisconsin-based doctors have been working to open the clinic for months, as it became clear that the U.S. Supreme Court was poised to strike down federal abortion access protections.

The clinic is the first of two locations that Christensen plans to open in Rockford, bringing abortion services back to the city for the first time in more than a decade, according to the Rockford Register Star. The second location ― currently under renovation and slated to be completed in April ― would offer surgical abortion procedures.

Madison OB/GYN Dr. Dennis Christensen, who formerly owned an abortion clinic in Milwaukee, opened a new clinic in Rockford, Illinois, with the goal of providing closer access to abortion care to Madisonians.
Madison OB/GYN Dr. Dennis Christensen, who formerly owned an abortion clinic in Milwaukee, opened a new clinic in Rockford, Illinois, with the goal of providing closer access to abortion care to Madisonians.

Christensen was the chief executive officer of Affiliated Medical Services in Milwaukee, which closed after the Supreme Court's ruling in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization case effectively blocked doctors in Wisconsin from providing abortions in most situations.

Affiliated Medical Services was one of four abortion clinics operating in Wisconsin before the Dobbs decision. Christensen put the building up for sale in October. The state's remaining three abortion clinics were run by Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, and still see patients for medical services other than abortions.

Christensen said he chose to open a clinic in Rockford because it would provide a closer option for women in the Madison area than Chicago-area abortion clinics. Rockford is about an hour and a half south of Madison.

He said he also envisioned the yet-to-be-opened surgical clinic as a potential training location for OB-GYN residents at UW Health. The Dobbs decision created new hurdles for OB/GYN residency programs across Wisconsin, because the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education requires them to teach abortion-related procedures or face losing accreditation.

UW Health spokeswoman Sara Benzel did not comment on any specific out-of-state clinics where OB/GYN residents could end up going for their training, but said generally UW Health is continuing to work on "ensuring the continuity, quality and integrity of our OB-GYN residency program."

"This work includes creating a path for OB-GYN residents to access training in abortion care as part of the planned curriculum, which is required to maintain accreditation," Benzel said.

More:Dobbs decision claims one of state's 4 abortion clinics. Here's why and what's next for the doctor.

More:Abortion pills will soon be available in pharmacies. But not in Wisconsin.

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Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify that UW Health administers the OB/GYN residency program.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Madison OB/GYN targets Wisconsin women with Rockford abortion clinic