Judge strikes down Wyoming abortion laws, including an explicit ban on pills to end pregnancy

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — (AP) — A judge on Monday struck down Wyoming's overall ban on abortion and its first-in-the-nation explicit prohibition on the use of medication to end pregnancy.

Teton County District Judge Melissa Owens' ruling was consistent with her three previous orders over the past 2.5 years to block the laws while they were disputed in court.

One Wyoming law that Owens said violated women's rights under the state constitution bans abortion except to protect to a pregnant woman's life or in cases involving rape and incest. The other made Wyoming the only state to explicitly ban abortion pills, though other states have instituted de facto bans on the medication by broadly prohibiting abortion.

The laws were challenged by four women, including two obstetricians, and two nonprofit organizations. One of the groups, Wellspring Health Access, opened as the state’s first full-service abortion clinic in years in April 2023 following an arson attack in 2022.

They argued that the bans stood to harm their health, well-being and livelihoods, claims disputed by attorneys for the state. The women and nonprofits also argued the bans violated a 2012 state constitutional amendment saying competent Wyoming residents have a right to make their own health care decisions, an argument Owens said had merit.

Wyoming voters approved the amendment amid fears of government overreach following approval of the federal Affordable Care Act and its initial requirements for people to have health insurance.

Attorneys for the state argued that health care, under the amendment, didn’t include abortion.

Both sides wanted Owens to rule on the lawsuit challenging the abortion bans rather than allow it to go to trial in the spring. A three-day bench trial before Owens was previously set, but won’t be necessary with this ruling.

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.