A state judge in Wyoming ruled on Monday that the state’s draconian abortion statute and the first state law that specifically prohibited the use of abortion pills were unconstitutional.
Judge Melissa Owens of the Teton County District Court issued a permanent injunction on Monday, preventing the passage of the Life is a Human Right Act and a medical abortion ban by Wyoming lawmakers during the 2023 legislative session. Together, the laws outlaw abortion medicine and abortion with few exceptions.
A group of women, medical experts, and charitable organizations opposed the laws. After an arson attack in 2022, Wellspring Health Access, one of the plaintiff groups, became the first full-service abortion clinic in the state when it opened in April 2023. The plaintiffs claimed that the abortion restrictions endangered their livelihoods, health, and well-being and that they went against a 2012 state constitutional amendment that gave Wyoming citizens the freedom to choose their own medical providers.
In earlier decisions, Owens temporarily stopped the two abortion prohibitions from going into effect, but her verdict on Monday permanently stops the measures. However, it is anticipated that Wyoming would challenge Owens’ decision.
Owens’ 35-page ruling drew heavily from Wyoming’s past.
Wyoming distinguished itself from its early territorial days and at the beginning of its statehood by pledging to uphold the idea that its laws apply equally to men and women. Owens wrote.
She said, “Wyominga was the first state in the history of the United States to grant women the right to vote and hold office, and it soon became known as the Equality State.” Wyoming was named a U.S. Territory in 1869 and became a state on July 10, 1890.
“Abortion laws have always included exceptions to protect a pregnant woman’s health, even when Wyoming was the only place to do so,” Owens said, referring to Wyoming’s entire history as a state and even its period as a territory.
According to Owens, the prohibition of abortion will compromise the integrity of the medical field by restricting doctors’ ability to treat patients with evidence-based treatment and by interfering with pregnant women’s fundamental right to make healthcare decisions.
According to Julie Burkhart, president of Wellspring Health Access, “This is a great day for the people of Wyoming and women everywhere who should have control over their own bodies.”
The complete ruling is available here.
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