WYOMING — On Monday, a Wyoming judge blocked the enforcement of two abortion related bills, passed by the Wyoming Legislature this session on the grounds of their constitutionality.
The ruling by District Judge Thomas Campbell pauses the enforcement of HB42 “Regulation of surgical abortions,” which requires abortion facilities in the state to be licensed as ambulatory surgical centers and physicians performing the procedure have admitting privileges at a hospital located no more than 10 miles from the facility; and HB64, “Chemical abortions-ultrasound requirement,” which requires patients seeking abortion medications to first undergo a transvaginal ultrasound and a 48-hour waiting period.
Governor Mark Gordon signed HB24 into law in February, halting abortion procedures at Wyoming’s lone abortion clinic, Wellspring Health Access in Casper, because it is not licensed as an ambulatory surgical center. The clinic provides medical abortions and procedural abortions up to 23.6 weeks.
“These regulations are not essential to providing abortions,” the clinic posted on Facebook following Gordon’s approval. “Ambulatory Surgical Center licensing is reserved for centers that actually provide surgery, not procedures. Since we are the only procedural abortion provider in the state, it’s only fair to say the end goal is to shut us down.”
The Wyoming Health Department defines ambulatory surgical centers as providing surgical treatment to patients not requiring hospitalization and is not part of a hospital or an office of private physicians, dentists or podiatrists.
Gordon previously vetoed HB64, saying that it goes too far. “If this Act were to become law, it creates the prospect of an unnecessary, intimate and invasive procedure (transvaginal ultrasound) which subjects women to an uncomfortable and potentially traumatic experience in what may already be a very overwhelming situation,” Gordon wrote in his veto letter dated March 3.
“I question whether this invasive ultrasound is absolutely necessary, fully informative or can even be considered a reasonable requirement for this procedure regardless of the circumstances resulting in the pregnancy,” Gordon said.
The Wyoming House and Senate both quickly voted to override Gordon’s veto of the bill, gathering a two thirds majority from the conservative legislature.
The Wyoming Supreme Court heard arguments again last week about the constitutionality of two 2023 laws aimed at banning abortions in the state, HB152 “Life is a Human Right Act” and SF109 “Prohibiting chemical abortions.” Both were struck down by Teton County Ninth District Court Judge Melissa Owens in November 2024, following temporary restraining orders and the Wyoming Supreme Court’s denial to hear the case.
Owens’ ruling was based on the 2012 state constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right of competent adults to make their own health care decisions. The Court heard arguments in the case last Wednesday, and is not expected to reach a decision for several weeks. The case hinges on the distinction of abortion being health care or not, and originated in 2023 when six plaintiffs sued the state.
Gordon did not sign HB152, allowing it to become law in March 2023 without his signature. Abortions in Wyoming remain legal amongst the ongoing litigation. Bills aimed at criminalizing abortion in the state began in 2022 following the overturn of Roe v. Wade by the United States Supreme Court.
