Planned Parenthood’s abortion facility in Appleton, Wisconsin, is temporarily suspending abortions following what Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin calls a “temporary gap in medical staff coverage.”
“This was a tough decision to make,” PPWI CEO Teri Huyck said, “because we understand that it means some patients will have to travel further to access abortion care and additional delays are a possibility with such limited access.” She stated that abortions are expected to resume in approximately six months and that other services would be unaffected.
LifeNews interprets “temporary gap in medical staff coverage” to mean “it can’t find an abortion practitioner to work there.”
Pro-Life Wisconsin celebrated the news as “a huge victory for the many pro-lifers who have prayed and sacrificed for an end to abortions in the Green Bay area,” and urged pro-lifers to “keep praying that their doors would remain shut permanently.”
Planned Parenthood has 22 locations in the state, three of which (including the clinic in question) perform abortions. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes that for the next six months, abortion will not be available “anywhere in the state north of Madison and Milwaukee.” Wisconsin does, however, have 162 federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics that offer women’s health care but are not involved in abortion.