Wyoming Judge Strikes Down Abortion Bans
Cheyenne, Wyoming — AP
In a landmark decision, Teton County District Judge Melissa Owens ruled on Monday to invalidate Wyoming’s comprehensive ban on abortion, including its unprecedented prohibition against medication for terminating pregnancies. This ruling follows a series of previous blocks by Owens since 2022, as the state contested the legality of the laws.
The challenged abortion law only allowed the procedure to protect a pregnant woman’s life or in cases of rape and incest, while the medication ban uniquely positioned Wyoming as the sole state to explicitly prohibit abortion pills. Advocacy groups and four women—including two obstetricians—filed the lawsuit, arguing that these laws infringed on women’s rights under the state constitution.
“This is a wonderful day for the citizens of Wyoming—and women everywhere who should have control over their own bodies,” stated Julie Burkhart, president of Wellspring Health Access, the state’s first full-service abortion clinic to open in years after a 2022 arson attack.
The ruling comes amid a wave of support for abortion rights, as voters in seven states recently approved measures expanding access to abortion services. This follows the seismic shift in the U.S. landscape after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, allowing many states to impose restrictive bans.
Judge Owens determined that the bans not only harmed the health and well-being of women but also contradicted a 2012 state constitutional amendment granting residents the right to make their own health care decisions. Attorneys representing the state contended that medical care did not encompass abortion, a standpoint that Owens decisively rejected.
This ruling prevents further legal proceedings that were set for trial in the spring, marking a significant moment for reproductive rights in Wyoming.
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