Planned Parenthood of Wisc., Inc. v. Van Hollen

Federal 7th Circuit Court
Civil Court
Abortion
Citation
Case Number: 
No. 13-2726
Decision Date: 
December 20, 2013
Federal District: 
W.D. Wisc.
Holding: 
Affirmed
In section 1983 action challenging constitutionality of Wisc. statute that prohibited physicians from performing abortions in abortion clinics unless said physicians had admitting privileges from hospital within 30 miles of said clinics, Dist. Ct. did not err in granting requests by plaintiffs-abortion clinics for issuance of temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction that served to stay enforcement of said statute pending full trial on merits of plaintiffs’ claim. Immediate enforcement of statute would have made it impossible for seven affected physicians to comply with statute’s provisions, where record showed that hospital privileges typically take months to obtain. Moreover, immediate enforcement would work hardship on plaintiffs and individuals seeking abortions since statute would cause immediate shutdown of 2.5 out of Wisconsin’s 4 clinics. Ct. also questioned whether statute’s requirements would actually improve women’s health and held that there was sufficient evidence indicating that statute discouraged abortions without medical justification, so as to support issuance of preliminary injunction.