JACKSON, Wyo. — Teton County House District 16 Representative Mike Yin and Teton County District 17 Senator Mike Gierau are sponsoring a bill that would amend the current abortion law in Wyoming.
The bill, assigned HB117, would amend two sections to Act No. 57, Abortion prohibition, otherwise known as Wyoming’s “trigger ban” which was signed into law last March by Governor Gordon. The law bans all abortions “except when necessary to preserve the woman from the serious risk of death or injury or if the pregnancy is the result of incest or sexual assault.”
When Roe v. Wade was overturned on June 24, 2022, Wyoming’s abortion prohibition law was set to take effect but a lawsuit challenging its constitutionality has halted it from being enforced thus far. In December, the Wyoming Supreme Court declined to weigh in on the case.
Yin’s piece of legislation aims to add another subsection to the “Abortion restrictions” section of the act, stating, “An abortion shall not be performed after the embryo or fetus has reached viability except when necessary to preserve the woman from an imminent peril that substantially endangers her life or health, according to appropriate medical judgment, or if the pregnancy is the result of incest as defined by W.S. 6-4-402 or sexual assault as defined by W.S. 6-2-301.”
And under the section outlining the “use of appropriated funds for abortion prohibited,” Yin seeks to allow funds appropriate by the legislature to be used to fund abortions when the pregnancy would endanger the life of the mother or is the result of incest or sexual assault. “If the assault is reported to a law enforcement agency within five days after the assault or within five days after the time the victim is capable of reporting the assault.”
Democratic Reps. Karlee Provenza, Trey Sherwood and Democratic Senator Chris Rothfuss are also sponsoring the bill.
Another bill, HB152 “Life is a Human Right” was recently introduced and seeks to create an additional Act to bolster Act. 57. Most notably, defining abortion as not health care.
“Instead of being health care, abortion is the intentional termination of the life of an unborn baby,” states the bill.
The bill also outlines abortion prohibitions including prescribing medicine or drug to cause abortions or using an instrument or device to cause an abortion.
It includes a section requiring abortions be reported to the state office of vital records. According to the bill, the records would be kept for seven years and compiled into yearly reports, omitting private information. The records would not be public records.
Another section outlines professional sanctions on physicians who violate the law including fines and their medical licenses being revoked. “Any person who violates the law is guilty of a felony punishable by a fine not to exceed twenty thousand dollars ($20,000.00), imprisonment for not more than five (5) years, or both,” states the bill.
Unlike Yin’s proposed bill, HB152 strikes out any funding for abortions when necessary to preserve the woman from serious risk or death or pregnancy resulting from incest or sexual assault.
The bill is sponsored by Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams who represents Park County. Rodriguez-Williams also championed the “trigger ban” legislation in 2022. Her LinkedIn page states she is the CEO/Executive Director at Serenity Pregnancy Resource Center.
According to the organization’s website, “We are a Christ-centered ministry which exists to provide alternatives to abortion, offer post-abortion support and empower mothers and fathers in crisis pregnancies to value and choose life in all circumstances.”
Twenty-one representatives and at least 14 senators, all of which are republicans, signed on as co-sponsors for HB152.
