MADISON — A federal judge in Madison has extended a preliminary injunction blocking part of a new Wisconsin law, Wisconsin Act 37, that requires abortion providers to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of an abortion clinic.
The order, issued August 2 by U.S. District Judge William Conley, stems from a lawsuit that Planned Parenthood and Affiliated Medical Services filed last month. The groups claim the law would shut two of the state’s four abortion clinics because providers at those facilities, in Appleton and Milwaukee, lack admitting privileges.
Conley issued a temporary restraining order July 8. This injunction blocks the requirement through a trial about the law’s constitutionality, which is set to begin November 25. Until Conley’s final ruling, the two clinics currently without admitting privileges can remain open.