CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Governor Mark Gordon signed House Bill 42 – Regulation of surgical abortions on Thursday evening, Feb. 27, ahead of his midnight deadline, according to a statement from his office. The legislation is another step in the yearslong battle over abortion access in the Equality State.
According to Gordon’s announcement, the bill “adds additional safety requirements to surgical abortion facilities in Wyoming while the state’s abortion prohibition is being considered by the Wyoming Supreme Court.”
The text of the legislation states that “no surgical abortion facility shall provide surgical abortions to any pregnant woman without first being licensed as an ambulatory surgical center,” and requires that the physician performing the procedure “has admitting privileges at a hospital located not more than 10 miles from the abortion facility where the licensed physician is performing or will perform surgical abortions.”
As highlighted by WyoFile, this legislation, effective immediately, could severely impact the sole abortion clinic in the state: Wellspring Health Access in Casper.
In a Feb. 21 Facebook post, Wellspring Health Access expressed its objections to the bill.
“These regulations are not essential to providing abortions,” the post reads. “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.”
Also noteworthy is the bill’s stipulation that “nothing in this act shall be construed as creating an individual right to abortion. It is the intent of the legislature that this act shall not: (i) Be construed as holding abortion as lawful in the state; (ii) Recognize or define abortion as a health care decision under article 1, section 38 of the Wyoming Constitution.”
Ninth District Court Judge Melissa Owens’ decision issued in November 2024, which struck down two abortion bans, cited the same section of the state constitution.
See a full list of the legislation Gordon has endorsed here.
