The sole state legislation targeting the most prevalent abortion procedure in the nation was scheduled to be implemented on July 1st.
A Wyoming judge issued a temporary restraining order on Thursday, halting the enforcement of the initial state law that specifically prohibits the utilisation of abortion pills, which are the prevalent method of abortion in the United States.
Judge Melissa Owens of Teton County District Court granted a temporary restraining order, postponing the implementation of the ban just a little over a week before it was supposed to come into effect. The law will remain on hold until additional court proceedings take place.
After a roughly two-hour hearing, Judge Owens delivered her ruling from the bench, stating that the plaintiffs, including four healthcare providers, have convincingly demonstrated a strong likelihood of success in their legal claims. She also acknowledged that some of the plaintiffs could experience potentially irreversible harm if the ban were to be enforced.
While states with near-total bans on abortion already prohibit medication abortion along with other forms of abortion, Wyoming recently became the first state to specifically outlaw the use of abortion pills as a standalone measure, separate from a comprehensive ban. The law was initially set to become effective on July 1st.
The prohibition, approved by the Legislature and endorsed by Governor Mark Gordon in March, criminalises the act of prescribing, dispensing, distributing, selling, or using any medication with the intent of obtaining or conducting an abortion.
Individuals, including doctors, who are found to have violated this law would face misdemeanour charges, carrying a potential prison term of up to six months and a fine of $9,000. Notably, the law explicitly states that pregnant women would be exempt from any charges or penalties.
Following the Supreme Court’s reversal of the nationwide abortion right, Wyoming’s Legislature, which is controlled by Republicans, has been making efforts to outlaw abortions within the state over the course of the past year.
In March, the Legislature approved and the governor enacted another near-total ban on abortions, aiming to bypass the constitutional amendment by asserting that abortion is not considered healthcare. Shortly after its enactment, Judge Owens issued a temporary injunction, expressing doubts about the state’s assertion that abortion does not fall under the category of healthcare.
During Thursday’s hearing regarding the ban on medication abortion, the question of whether abortion qualifies as healthcare was a prominent topic. Jay Jerde, a special assistant attorney general for Wyoming, contended that while doctors and healthcare providers are involved in abortions, there are situations where abortion does not fall under the scope of healthcare since it does not involve the restoration of a woman’s body from pain, physical disease, or illness.
Judge Owens expressed scepticism towards Mr. Jerde’s argument, highlighting that the law effectively grants the government the authority to make decisions for women, instead of allowing women to make their own healthcare choices as determined by the significant majority in Wyoming.
The plaintiffs involved in the lawsuit, which challenges multiple bans, consist of the sole two abortion providers in Wyoming, an obstetrician-gynaecologist specialising in high-risk pregnancies, an emergency room nurse, a fund that provides financial assistance to abortion patients, and a woman who asserts that her Jewish faith mandates access to abortion when a pregnant woman’s physical or mental health or life is at risk.
