Wyoming judge strikes down state’s sweeping pro-life laws; appeal is likely

A Teton County judge on Monday overturned two Wyoming pro-life laws – including one that’s the first in the nation that prohibited drug-induced abortions. 

Judge Melissa Owens struck down the two laws that were passed by state lawmakers in 2023 following the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade: HB0152, the Life is a Human Right Act, which prohibited abortion except to protect a pregnant woman’s life or in cases in which the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest; and SF0109, Prohibiting Chemical Abortions. 

The pro-life laws were challenged by abortion advocates and OB/GYNs who claimed they were unconstitutional. 

According to WyoFile, Owens wrote in her decision that abortion is “health care.” 

“The Defendants have not established a compelling governmental interest to exclude pregnant women from fully realizing the protections afforded by the Wyoming Constitution during the entire term of their pregnancies, nor have the Defendants established that the Abortion Statutes accomplish their interest,” Owens wrote. “The Court concludes that the Abortion Statutes suspend a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions during the entire term of a pregnancy and are not reasonable or necessary to protect the health and general welfare of the people.” 

The judge disagreed with a 2012 Wyoming provision that asserted abortion cannot be categorized as a woman’s “health care” decision because it involves both the woman and the life of an unborn baby. 

“The Health Care Amendment does not prohibit a person from making their own health care decision if their decision impacts any other person,” Owens wrote. “As the Plaintiffs argued, only a pregnant woman can make a decision to have an abortion. No other person can make that decision for a competent pregnant woman. To adopt Defendants’ argument the Court would have to rewrite the Health Care Amendment.” 

Owens also cited a state constitutional amendment that was widely accepted by voters in 2012 as an expression of disapproval for the passage of Obamacare, i.e., the Affordable Care Act. Republican lawmakers pushed to pass the amendment to protect Wyoming citizens’ healthcare options. 

“The plaintiffs maintained the constitutional amendment barred lawmakers from banning abortion — regardless of whether that was the authors’ intention,” WyoFile reported. 

The case is expected to be appealed to the Wyoming Supreme Court. 

Julie Burkhart, president of Wellspring Health Access, an abortion clinic and one of the abortion advocacy groups that sued the state, said in a statement: “This is a wonderful day for the citizens of Wyoming — and women everywhere who should have control over their own bodies.” 

Rep. Karlee Provenza (D-Laramie) told WyoFile she was “grateful that, for at least now, we don’t have to worry about politicians forcing women into pregnancies that they shouldn’t have and that they don’t want to have for health care or personal reasons, it doesn’t matter.” 

But Republican lawmakers expressed concern over the ruling. 

Rep. John Bear (R-Gillette), who previously chaired the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, said though he was not surprised by the ruling, he remained disappointed. 

“It’s a huge failure of the judicial system to take two years to come to this conclusion, almost three years,” Bear told WyoFile. “And I’m very disappointed that the will of the people was not upheld. So I look forward to an appeal, and hope that it can move quickly — much more quickly than it did via Judge Owens’ decision.” 

The Freedom Caucus also posted on Facebook Monday: 

“We are sickened by the decision out of Teton County today. Contrary to [Gov. Mark] Gordon’s radical judicial appointees and the talking points of Kamala Harris, killing a defenseless human being is NOT healthcare, and judges don’t get to legislate from the bench.” 

The ruling comes following approval during the 2024 elections of ballot initiatives in seven states designed to expand access to abortion and declare it a “right” in the wake of the Dobbs decision. Three other states, however, voted against guaranteeing the “right” to an abortion.