A year post-Roe: Abortion rights groups strategize, pro-life supporters want end to out-of-state referrals
SHEBOYGAN – In the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade, local organizations have been grappling with what it means for abortion care in the Sheboygan community for the past year.
The 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortions at the federal level, was overturned last June, giving states the power to rule on the issue. Some states reverted to former abortion laws on the books.
In Wisconsin, an 1849 law that outlawed abortions except in life-saving situations of the mother went into effect after Roe was overturned.
Sheboygan — one of three Planned Parenthood clinics that provided abortion care in the state along with Milwaukee and Madison — immediately suspended its on-site abortion services. The clinic, along with other Planned Parenthood health centers, still offer other reproductive services like STD testing and birth control.
The law is currently under scrutiny by Attorney General Josh Kaul, who issued a lawsuit in state court seeking clarification if it should be in effect with more recent abortion laws on the books.
Several Republican representatives also proposed abortion-related items, like requiring girls and women to present a police report that they’re a victim of sexual assault or incest before being allowed to get an abortion and changing language to make exceptions to the ban in cases of pregnancy complications.
Groups on all sides of the abortion issue continue advocacy, but pro-choice supporters in Sheboygan and the state have had to change several strategies and health care services.
Sheboygan Abortion Rights Coalition has expanded its scope to voting since hosting a rally last summer. The group mobilizes around candidates who advocate for or support abortion access, like Janet Protasiewicz, who won the Wisconsin Supreme Court race in April and tipped the court to a liberal majority.
This work has called for collaboration with local organizations, like the Sheboygan County LGBTQ Alliance and Sheboygan County Democratic Party, helping people register to vote and volunteering as poll workers to ensure voting is accessible, Ashleigh Yonke, one of the coalition’s leaders, said.
“We can do we rallies, we can do conversations, we can talk to people, but the real thing that we can do is voting and then encouraging other people to vote,” Yonke said.
The coalition is also developing a website with community resources to assist individuals who are pregnant, regardless of their decision.
“We're (the coalition) pro-abortion, but that doesn't mean that's the right choice for everybody,” Yonke said.
They also support and share resources from organizations doing advocacy work, like National Network of Abortion Funds and Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin.
Planned Parenthood expanded its gender-affirming hormone therapy program in the absence of abortion care in the state. It also added vasectomy surgeries at a Milwaukee site and preventive cervical cancer services like Loop Electrosurgical Excision Procedure.
To assist individuals seeking abortion services in neighboring states where abortion is legal, Planned Parenthood also developed an abortion patient navigator team, which helps patients with transportation and hotel costs.
Patient navigator Zoie Hawpetoss said getting individuals in northern and rural Wisconsin to abortion care has been challenging.
"There are plenty of people who are stuck traveling more than 12 hours in a day just to get to their appointment,” Hawpetoss said.
Some patients chose to go to Illinois before Roe was overturned for services, but that number has increased 10 times over, Amy Doczy, vice president of patient services at Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, said.
“The need for abortion hasn't changed in the past year,” Doczy said. “What has changed is something that was already logistically difficult to access in Wisconsin has become more challenging. And the people that are most impacted tend to be lower income populations without resources.”
Yonke said the Coalition had a lot of hope when Protasiewicz won, but many people are “really pissed off, (and) they’re really angry" about the overturn of Roe.
“There's hope, but we all know that this is a really long fight,” Yonke said. “There are losses along the way, but hopefully we can start seeing more wins and pushing it towards making abortion accessible for people who want it and need it.”
Unlike pro-choice groups, much of the Sheboygan-40 Days for Life campaign work has continued as it did before Roe was overturned, co-leader Germaine Souik said.
“I can't say that it’s changed a lot of things for us really,” Souik said.
Souik said while pro-life supporters “celebrated” the overturn, with many being alive during the 1973 ruling and working and praying for its overturn for more than four decades, they've continued advocating for the end of abortions.
"Our goal is to help mothers, save babies and be compassionate to both," Souik said.
The group continues its fall and spring campaigns with prayer and fasting, a 12-hour vigil and community outreach. Their focus now is ending out-of-state abortions.
“We recognized Planned Parenthood was still open," Souik said. "They quit doing the chemical abortions here in Sheboygan, but we assumed they were referring them to neighboring states which allowed abortions.
"... We’re praying not just to keep abortion out of Wisconsin, but to educate the public about what abortion really is, what happens during that abortion,” Souik added.
She said participation in 40 Days for Life in Sheboygan has been fairly consistent and, outside of campaigning, pro-life supporters protest on the sidewalk near Planned Parenthood.
Souik expected the group to receive more counter protesters when Roe was overturned, but save for a few angry drivers and passersby, there hasn't been a ton of backlash, she said.
While many efforts will continue, Souik said she hopes to expand the group’s community reach and draw people's attention to abortion.
She said, "All in all, our work is not complete."
Here's how to connect locally with Planned Parenthood, 40 Days for Life
Planned Parenthood-Sheboygan Health Center is at 909 S. Taylor Drive and can be reached at 844-493-1052 and at https://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-center/wisconsin/sheboygan. The center is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the third Wednesday of the month.
Germaine Souik of Sheboygan-40 Days for Life can be reached at 920-918-2310 and ggsouik@gmail.com. The organization can also be found at https://www.40daysforlife.com/en/sheboygan.
More: This year's funding kept the Open Door operating. But now staff are struggling to adjust.
Contact Alex Garner at 224-374-2332 or agarner@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @alexx_garner.
This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Roe overturned: A year later, Sheboygan groups continue advocacy work
