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No.

Abortion is generally illegal in Wisconsin, but state laws do not penalize those who get one.

Wisconsin’s 1849 abortion law, reinstated after the June 2022 repeal of Roe v. Wade, prohibits abortion except when “necessary to save the life of the mother.”

A 2011 state law required that abortion-inducing drugs be prescribed by a physician who examines the patient and is present when the pills are taken.

Both laws carry felony penalties for providers, but people who receive an abortion are exempted from any penalties. Wisconsinites may obtain the pills in a neighboring state where abortion is legal.

An April 7, 2023 ruling by a federal judge in Texas would revoke the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone, one of two main pills used in medication abortions. The decision is stayed to give the FDA time to appeal. 

See a full discussion of this at Wisconsin Watch

This Fact Brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Wisconsin State Legislature 940.04 Abortion

Wisconsin State Legislature Prescription and use of abortion-inducing drug

Wisconsin Public Radio FDA OKs pharmacies to provide abortion pill, but in Wisconsin things are more complicated

Kaiser Family Foundation Q & A: Implications of Two Conflicting Federal Court Rulings on the Availability of Medication Abortion and the FDA’s Authority to Regulate Drugs

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Tom Kertscher joined Wisconsin Watch as a full-time Milwaukee-based reporter in October 2024 after starting as a freelance Fact Briefs reporter in January 2023. In addition to contributing to Wisconsin Watch’s collaboration with The Gigafact Project to combat online misinformation, he reports on the rapid expansion of data centers and other statewide issues. Kertscher is a former longtime reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, a contributing writer for Milwaukee Magazine and the author of two sports books, on Al McGuire and Brett Favre.