Wyoming Supreme Court to hear arguments over abortion bans struck down by a judge

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Wyoming abortion bans put on hold and struck down by a lower court judge, including the first explicit U.S. ban on abortion pills, will be argued Wednesday before the state's Supreme Court.

Arguments are set for 1:30 p.m. before the state high court in Cheyenne.

Abortion has remained legal in this conservative state since Teton County District Judge Melissa Owens in Jackson blocked a series of bans passed in the state since 2022.

One law would ban abortion except to protect to a pregnant woman's life or in cases involving rape and incest. The other would make Wyoming the only state to explicitly ban abortion pills, though other states have instituted de facto bans on abortion medication by broadly prohibiting abortion.

Wyoming's laws prompted lawsuits filed by four women, including two obstetricians, and two nonprofits including Wellspring Health Access, the state's only abortion clinic. They argued in court filings that the laws stand to harm the women's health, well-being and livelihoods and violate a state constitutional amendment.

Attorneys for the state dispute those claims and argue that abortion can't violate the constitution because it is not health care.

After blocking the laws from taking effect, Owens sided with the women and nonprofits, ruling in November that the laws violate the 2012 constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right of competent adults to make their own health care decisions.

Meanwhile, the same nonprofits and women are suing to challenge two laws passed by the Legislature last winter. Wellspring Health Access has ceased providing either surgical or medical abortions since Feb. 28 because of the laws.

One of the laws requires abortion clinics — specifically Wellspring Health Access in Casper as the state's only abortion clinic — to be licensed as outpatient surgical centers.

Getting licensed would require costly renovations, clinic officials say. The law also requires the Wellspring Health Access physicians to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital even though that facility is under no obligation to grant such a request.

The other new law requires women to have an ultrasound at least 48 hours before a pill abortion. While attorneys for the state argue the Legislature has wide regulatory discretion to prevent rare mishaps during abortions, the women and nonprofits argue that ultrasounds are a costly and burdensome requirement for women seeking pill abortions in Wyoming.

A judge in Casper is considering a request by the clinic and the others to suspend the new laws while their lawsuit proceeds.