Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin filed a lawsuit Thursday in Dane County Circuit Court seeking to establish that the Wisconsin Constitution protects a right to abortion and bodily autonomy. The case, brought on behalf of Planned Parenthood staff members and patients, names Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne, the state Medical Examining Board and the Board of Nursing as defendants. It challenges two restrictions: a requirement that abortion care be provided only by physicians and a law requiring patients to wait at least 24 hours between a consultation with a physician and the abortion appointment with that same physician. Tanya Atkinson, Planned Parenthood Wisconsin’s president and CEO, said the lawsuit asks courts to apply the state Constitution’s guarantee that people possess inherent rights including “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” “We believe our constitutional freedom includes the ability to make deeply personal decisions about our reproductive healthcare without unnecessary government interference,” Atkinson said during a virtual news conference. Wisconsin law makes it a Class I felony for a person who is not a physician to perform an abortion. Atkinson said advanced practice nurse practitioners, physician assistants and certified nurse midwives could safely provide abortion care. The 24-hour waiting requirement took effect in 1996 under a law signed by then-Gov. Tommy Thompson. Allison Linton, a board-certified OB-GYN and Planned Parenthood Wisconsin’s chief medical officer, said the rule is not medically necessary and creates practical obstacles for patients. Linton said patients regularly tell providers they cannot take another day off work, find another round of child care or afford another trip to a clinic. She said patients treated this week traveled from Texas and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, illustrating the regional consequences of Wisconsin’s restrictions. “These burdens fall especially hard on people who already face barriers to healthcare — people who work hourly jobs, people with limited financial resources, parents who need childcare and patients who have to travel long distances to reach us,” Linton said. Planned Parenthood operates three Wisconsin clinics that provide abortion services, in Milwaukee, Madison and Sheboygan. According to the lawsuit, the Madison and Milwaukee centers see patients five days a week, but offer medication and procedural abortions only two or three days a week on average because state law requires a physical examination and ultrasound, information disclosures and consent procedures. The Sheboygan clinic offers a limited number of medication-abortion appointments roughly one day a week. Abortion access in Wisconsin has been unsettled since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Planned Parenthood previously stopped providing abortions after an 1849 law was interpreted as a near-total ban. The Wisconsin Supreme Court later ruled that law invalid because subsequent legislation had regulated abortion, allowing services to resume. Planned Parenthood also temporarily paused services after federal changes associated with President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” before resuming them. The organization filed a previous case seeking recognition of a constitutional right to abortion. The Wisconsin Supreme Court dismissed that lawsuit after invalidating the 1849 law in a separate case, leaving unresolved whether the state Constitution independently protects abortion access. “None of our courts have decided whether or not the Wisconsin Constitution, in fact, protects this fundamental freedom,” Atkinson said. “We believe it does.” A ruling recognizing such a right would not automatically eliminate every abortion restriction, said Michelle Velasquez, Planned Parenthood Wisconsin’s chief strategy officer. She said future laws would still be tested against the scope of the right and the level of constitutional review applied by the courts. The lawsuit arrives as Wisconsin’s 2026 elections could determine control of the governor’s office and Legislature. Atkinson said the election calendar did not determine when the case was filed, arguing that the connection between abortion access and politics has itself become a problem. Democrats have proposed legislation that would repeal several restrictions, including the physician-only rule, the 24-hour waiting period, an ultrasound requirement and limits on abortion coverage. Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, the Democratic nominee for governor, praised the lawsuit and said Wisconsin needs a governor who will protect reproductive rights and keep politicians out of private medical decisions. About 11 Republican lawmakers condemned the lawsuit, saying Planned Parenthood should seek changes through the Legislature. Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany said he would uphold Wisconsin’s current abortion laws if elected. Tiffany previously supported abortion restrictions, including a 2015 vote in the state Senate for a ban on abortions after 20 weeks and a 2023 congressional bill that would have criminalized abortions after approximately six weeks of pregnancy.