CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Governor Mark Gordon’s office announced Friday that he had vetoed a bill that aimed to regulate surgical abortion clinics in the state.
House Bill 0148 – Regulation of Abortions would require clinics performing surgical abortions in the state to be licensed as “ambulatory surgical centers,” and would require patients seeking abortions to undergo an ultrasound beforehand.
While two abortion bans are being debated in the state’s court system, Gordon said he felt this bill would “further delay” a definitive ruling on the statewide constitutionality of abortion.
“With the judge certifying these cases to the Wyoming Supreme Court, the state is closer than ever to a decision on the constitutionality of abortion in Wyoming,” Gordon said in a statement. “It is my opinion that HB148, as amended, had the potential to further delay the resolution of this critical issue for the unborn. The potential of starting over on a new course of legal arguments would in my mind be derelict, and would have only sacrificed additional unborn lives in Wyoming.”
In his explanatory letter, Gordon noted that his disagreement with the bill was focused on the amendments made to it over the course of this year’s legislative session, not a disapproval of its original intent.
“I am vetoing this bill in an effort to keep our current court case on track for a speedy resolution on the issue of the constitutionality of the Life is a Human Right Act and the Prohibition of Chemical Abortions law,” Gordon wrote. “To be clear, safe procedures are essential; however, the way this bill evolved over the session confused the issue thereby making it vulnerable to challenge. Human life is too precious. If you want to save lives let the Courts finally do their job and let’s keep future legislation focused on regulatory oversight related to the current operations of abortion in Wyoming.”
Read Gordon’s full letter here.
