New Wyoming law cracks down on surgical abortions as full ban still in court

Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon has signed a measure placing new restrictions on the state’s lone surgical abortion clinic – forcing it to stop providing abortions for now – but vetoed another bill that would have mandated ultrasounds for all women seeking abortion medications.

Gordon, a Republican, signed House Bill 42 last week, which adds “additional safety requirements” to Wyoming abortion facilities. 

The legislation could become moot depending on the outcome of “the state’s abortion prohibition … being considered by the Wyoming Supreme Court,” Gordon’s office told The Hill. 

The Cowboy State currently allows legal abortion until viability. A lower court judge struck down the state’s 2023 elective abortion ban in November 2024, arguing it violates the state’s 2012 voter-approved health care freedom constitutional amendment. Voters passed it due to their opposition to the Affordable Care Act. 

In the meantime, Republican lawmakers and pro-life advocates have looked for ways to put the squeeze on the Casper-based Wellspring Health Access, the state’s only abortion clinic, The Hill reports. 

The new law says Wyoming surgical abortion clinics must be licensed as ambulatory surgical centers to provide abortions. It also says clinics that perform at least one abortion annually must have a physician with admitting privileges at a hospital within 10 miles of the clinic. Plus, physicians must report every surgical abortion to the Wyoming Department of Health.   

Wellspring does not meet those requirements, so it stopped performing abortions last week. 

The clinic’s president, Julie Burkhart, calls the law unconstitutional and said her organization will challenge it in court.  

“Make no mistake – this law directly targets our clinic with the explicit goal of forcing us out of business,” Burkhart said in a statement. “By doing so, it limits healthcare options, increases costs, and puts countless individuals at risk.”  

State Rep. Martha Lawley, R-Worland, said that while most Wyoming lawmakers oppose abortion, they also don’t want unsafe clinics hurting women. 

“As long as abortion remains legal in Wyoming, we have a responsibility for the safety of women getting abortions,” she told WJBF. 

Lawley added that the bill contained some “basic, commonsense regulations.” 

Gordon vetoed a similar bill last year, arguing it might complicate the legal battle over abortion currently in court. 

Although the governor is pro-life, he vetoed another abortion measure, House Bill 64, because it was “invasive” and did not offer exceptions for victims of rape and incest or cases where a woman’s health is the primary concern, WyoFile reported. 

“Every year we continue to lose unborn babies in Wyoming,” he wrote in his veto letter. “Making it easier for mothers to have babies in Wyoming and supporting them afterward is a far better course. Mandating this intimate, personally invasive, and often medically unnecessary procedure goes too far.” 

Gordon also expressed concerns that the required ultrasound and 48-hour waiting period would deter rape and incest victims from reporting the crimes. 

The vetoed bill passed both the House and Senate by more than two-thirds majorities, the threshold required for an override. The House voted successfully to override Tuesday. The fate of the bill now lies with the Senate, which must act before the legislative session ends on Thursday.