Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon has signed into law a bill that prohibits the use or prescription of medication abortion pills. The bill, passed by the state’s Republican-controlled legislature earlier this month, outlaws any drug that is used to procure or perform an abortion. Governor Gordon signed the law as a federal judge in Texas considers ordering a nationwide ban on the abortion pill mifepristone in response to a lawsuit by anti-abortion groups. The law includes exceptions for treatment necessary to protect a woman’s life or health, and for natural miscarriage according to medical guidelines. The signing of this bill comes as legal fights over abortion rights continue to heat up in the US.
Important Details about Wyoming governor signs law outlawing use of abortion pills –
– Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon signed a bill on March 17 outlawing medication abortion pills.
– The bill was passed by the state’s Republican-controlled legislature.
– The ban includes prescription and use of medication for the purpose of procuring or performing an abortion.
– Morning-after pills and treatment necessary to protect a woman’s life or health are exempt from the ban.
– Violation of the ban is a criminal misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $9,000.
– The governor also allowed another bill prohibiting conventional abortion procedures to become law.
– The exception is permitted to end a pregnancy if doctors determine there to be a lethal abnormality of the fetus.
– Legal fights over abortion rights in the US have increased following the Supreme Court’s 2021 Roe v. Wade decision.
– Abortion rights proponents have filed lawsuits against Wyoming’s “trigger” abortion ban that went into effect after the Roe v. Wade.
– The governor expressed concern that enactment of the new abortion ban could create a new obstacle to swift resolution of the matter by the courts.
Wyoming Governor Signs Bill Outlawing Medication Abortion Pills
Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon has signed a bill into law that outlaws medication abortion pills. The bill was passed by the state’s Republican-controlled legislature earlier this month. Gordon, who is also a Republican, signed the bill as a federal judge in Texas considers ordering a nationwide ban on the abortion pill mifepristone in response to a lawsuit by anti-abortion groups.
The two-page Wyoming bill makes it illegal to “prescribe, dispense, distribute, sell or use any drug for the purpose of procuring or performing an abortion.” However, so-called “morning-after” pills, prescription contraceptive medication used after sex but before a pregnancy can be confirmed, are exempted from the ban.
The measure also includes an exemption for any treatment necessary to protect a woman “from an imminent peril that substantially endangers her life or health,” as well as any treatment of a “natural miscarriage according to currently accepted medical guidelines.”
Those who violate the ban will be treated as a criminal misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $9,000. However, the measure stipulates that a woman “upon whom a chemical abortion is performed or attempted shall not be criminally prosecuted.”
In addition to signing the medication abortion bill, Gordon also allowed the enactment of a separate bill passed by state lawmakers to prohibit conventional abortion procedures except when necessary to protect the health and life of the mother, or in case of rape or incest. Exception is also permitted to end a pregnancy if doctors determine there to be a lethal abnormality of the fetus.
Legal fights over abortion rights have ramped up in the United States following a Supreme Court ruling last year that overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing the procedure.
Abortion rights proponents have already challenged Wyoming’s “trigger” abortion ban that went into effect after the Roe v. Wade decision. They have also filed suit to block the newly passed Wyoming ban preemptively. The governor expressed concern that enactment of the new abortion ban could muddy the legal waters, creating a new obstacle to swift resolution of the matter by the courts.
The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.