Abortions Down In WI In 2020, Still Higher Than In 2017: DHS Report

MILWAUKEE, WI — The number of abortions in Wisconsin was down in 2020, but still higher than in some previous years, a May 2022 report from the Department of Health Services showed.

Of the number of abortions induced in the Badger State, 6,336 residents reported having one administered in 2020, according to key findings in the 28-page report. There were 6,372 residents who reported having an abortion in 2019.

That's still higher than in 2017, where 5,818 residents reported having a pregnancy terminated, health services data showed. Abortions in Wisconsin were the lowest between 2014 and 2017.

In 2020, the estimated rate for abortions among Wisconsin residents was 5.8 for every 1,000 people aged 15-44, which is half of the national average reported in 2019, a key finding of the report said.

People aged 20-24 were the largest age group (30 percent) of those who reported having an abortion in Wisconsin in 2020, health services data showed. People 35 and older made up 13 percent of reports, people 18-19 made up seven percent of reports, and people aged 15-17 made up 3 percent.

White women reported the most induced abortions in Wisconsin, or 54 percent, health services data showed. Black women reported 34 percent of terminated pregnancies, Hispanic women reported 12 percent, and Native American women reported 1 percent.

Reactions Across WI After Supreme Court's Plan To Overturn Roe V. Wade

A crowd of more than 1,000 people marched on the Badger State's Capitol in Madison Tuesday in support of reproductive rights.

The protest followed Politico's report of a leaked opinion draft showing the U.S. Supreme Court's projected decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that gave federal protections to terminating pregnancies.

"We will not back down," Tanya Atkinson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, said in a Facebook post Tuesday. "Access to abortion is a fundamental right."

See Also: Over 1,000 Rally For Abortion In Madison After Supreme Court Leak

The leaked report caused an outcry among the state's Democratic leaders, including Gov. Tony Evers, who urged the Senate to act on a proposal for reproductive rights.

The governor, joined by a coalition of 16 other governors, called on the Senate to pass the Women's Health Protection Act to prohibit government restrictions on abortion access and care.

See Also: Roe v. Wade In WI: Gov. Evers Coalition Urges Senate, Congress To Act

"Reproductive healthcare decisions are deeply personal and should be made by patients in consultation with their healthcare providers, not by politicians," Evers said.

In Wisconsin, an 1849 statute that criminalizes abortion would go into effect if Roe v. Wade is overturned.