MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin said Friday it will begin offering abortion services as part of a new clinic reopening in Sheboygan, in the northeastern part of the state.
The new center is scheduled to open Monday. Tanya Atkinson, president and CEO of the Wisconsin group, said the clinic fills a void because it will be the only facility in the state outside of Milwaukee and Madison to offer abortion services.
"We have women coming from the U.P. (Upper Peninsula) of Michigan all the way to Madison and Milwaukee to receive abortion services and we saw a need in northeast Wisconsin," Atkinson told the Journal Sentinel.
The clinic will provide medication abortions to women who are in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy.
Planned Parenthood first opened in Sheboygan in 1973. It closed its health center there in August after being notified its lease was not being renewed and relocated to a temporary location. The group began construction on its new location in February.
The project was funded by donors. Dan Miller, state director of Pro-Life Wisconsin, said it shows that Planned Parenthood doesn't need public funding.
"We look forward to helping them get off of the public dole," he said. "Anywhere where they're getting public funding, we're going after it."
The announcement comes about one month after Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker signed a bill that prohibits government-provided health insurance plans from paying for most abortion services. It comes nearly two years after Planned Parenthood closed its clinic near Appleton because of security concerns. That center had previously suspended providing abortions in October 2015 because of a temporary staff shortage.
The Sheboygan clinic will offer cancer screenings, birth control, miscarriage management, well woman checkups, STD testing and treatment, testicular exams, sex education and referrals for prenatal care, adoption and cancer treatment.
