The Supreme Court on Friday overturned Roe v. Wade, eliminating Americans’ constitutional right to abortion and clearing the way for Wyoming’s abortion ban trigger law to go into effect.
House Bill 92 – Abortion prohibition-supreme court decision, passed during the 2022 legislative session, makes all abortions illegal in the state except in cases of rape, incest and serious risk of death or “substantial and irreversible physical impairments” for the pregnant woman.
The prohibition will go into effect five days after the governor certifies the ruling to the secretary of state. It’s not yet clear when Gov. Mark Gordon will take that step — the bill states the attorney general has 30 days to report to the Joint Judiciary Interim Committee and the governor.
“This is a decisive win for those who have fought for the rights of the unborn for the past 50 years,” Gordon wrote in a statement. “I signed Wyoming’s prohibition on abortion bill because I believe that the decision to regulate abortions should be left to the states.”
Access to abortion is already very limited in Wyoming. There are no surgical abortion providers and only one practice provides medication abortions. It’s in Jackson, far from the state’s population centers.
“I don’t want to break the law,” Dr. Giovannina Anthony, a physician at Wyoming’s last remaining clinic to provide abortions, told WyoFile the evening before the Supreme Court ruling. “And if it’s not legal, I won’t do it,” she said.
Anthony noted penalties include up to 14 years imprisonment for providing an illegal abortion. “I’m not going to take a chance on that,” she said.
Wyomingites can also receive abortion pills by mail through Just the Pill. A spokesperson for the organization explained if Wyoming bans abortion patients will have to travel to another state to have a telehealth appointment and then either receive the pills at a mobile clinic or wait one to two days to have the pills mailed to a pick-up location outside of Wyoming.
Idaho and Utah both have abortion ban trigger laws in place. Patients who previously traveled to Salt Lake City or Boise for abortions will no longer be able to do so if the states certify their laws as expected. Most Wyomingites seeking abortions travel to Colorado, but with bans going into effect in two Mountain West states, as well as South and North Dakota, women may face even longer wait times for appointments in clinics where the procedure remains legal.
Abortion restrictions in Texas have driven increased demand in neighboring states making it difficult to secure an appointment, the New Yorker reported.
Anthony said there are many elements of Wyoming’s abortion ban that are unclear. For example, although the law makes exceptions for rape or incest, she’s unsure how a patient or provider would prove those claims. “I think it’s important for the average citizen to understand that rape and incest and health of the mother exceptions are included for political reasons to make the law more palatable, but it has nothing to do with actually caring about those scenarios,” Anthony said. “Because it will be incumbent on the provider to prove to the state that those scenarios were in fact in place.”
What happens if the perpetrator denies a sexual assault? Or the case goes to court and the victim loses the case? Anthony worries that abortions in those cases could be considered a crime in retrospect. “It has a chilling effect on providers who just don’t want to go down that road,” she said. “And I think it would have a chilling effect on me as well.”
She doesn’t believe she will see many patients claiming incest as a factor. “It’s so suppressed, closeted and horrific a crime that it just doesn’t get reported,” Anthony said.
Additionally, Anthony worries about the prosecution of medically necessary abortions. “In the setting of complicated obstetric or gynecologic issues, I don’t know how to navigate that,” she said.
She points to a recent example of a patient from Dubois who had cardiac issues that made continuing her pregnancy a risk.
“Her risk of death if she continued her pregnancy was 40%,” Anthony said. “Is that a high enough risk? I mean, she has a 60% chance of not dying.”
Anthony doesn’t know the answer. If abortion is banned in Wyoming in the coming days, she says she’d likely send patients in similar situations to Colorado.
As long as the state doesn’t move to also criminalize aiding and abetting the sourcing of abortion services she will continue to work with local groups like Chelsea’s Fund to help women legally secure abortions in other states.
Abortion is murder don’t you understand ? You do not have the right to murder there is a life inside of you !!!use contraception there are so many out there GodHelpthe Babys
It is a sad day when women no longer have a choice. It may not be my choice but I don’t have the right to tell other women how to live. This is about all women rights. Women lose this right which right do we lose next? There could come a time when women can no longer own property and become second class citizens once again. It’s not the 20th century. The rights women enjoy now have not always been there -wake up don’t take these rights for granted ladies. Go vote!
The US constitution does not speak about abortion this is a personal healthcare decision. How many orphans, absent parents and state funded institutions can we support?
“The unborn” are a convenient group of people to advocate for. They never make demands of you; they are morally uncomplicated, unlike the incarcerated, addicted, or the chronically poor; they don’t resent your condescension or complain that you are not politically correct; unlike widows, they don’t ask you to question patriarchy; unlike orphans, they don’t need money, education, or childcare; unlike aliens, they don’t bring all that racial, cultural, and religious baggage that you dislike; they allow you to feel good about yourself without any work at creating or maintaining relationships; and when they are born, you can forget about them, because they cease to be unborn. You can love the unborn and advocate for them without substantially challenging your own wealth, power, or privilege, without re-imagining social structures, apologizing, or making reparations to anyone. They are, in short, the perfect people to love if you want to claim you love Jesus, but actually dislike people who breathe. Prisoners? Immigrants? The sick? The poor? Widows? Orphans? All the groups that are specifically mentioned in the Bible? They all get thrown under the bus for the unborn.”
― Methodist Pastor David Barnhart
1. All males at age of 16 enter their DNA in a federal database.
2. When a female is raped or the victim of incest – the collected DNA is matched to the database.
3. If the female becomes pregnant, the male owner of the DNA is required to pay all medical costs, the loss of income for the female during birth and 10 weeks after, and the current cost of raising the child until the child attains the age of 21.
4. If the male is unable to do so, then the state picks up the costs.
What should be done with women that cry rape and didn’t happen? It is real problem as well. Automatic sterilization of female? Upon conviction of rape the dna is taken. Hard to support anything if one is in jail
“We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled. The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision, including the one on which the defenders of Roe and Casey now chiefly rely — the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. That provision has been held to guarantee some rights that are not mentioned in the Constitution, but any such right must be “deeply rooted in this Nation’s history and tradition” and “implicit in the concept of ordered liberty.”
The right to abortion does not fall within this category.”
Justice Samuel Alito
“… wait one to two days to have the pills mailed to a pick-up location outside of Wyoming.”
Has the legislature criminalized transport of these pills? That would be bad.
Abortion laws ban only abortions for those who have limited resources. Abortions were readily available prior to Roe and will always be if you can afford them. This is just another oppression of the less fortunate. It will create the biggest bootleg industry since prohibition, abortion pills.
When I worked in Wyoming I was aware of no physician that would “kill” a baby. Women had to travel to Colorado.
Interesting that the abortionists I knew were all female
If you don’t think what the Supreme Court did on abortion is extreme, just wait until the go to work on contraception, morning after pills, same sex marriage, sexual practices between consenting adults, and Brown vs. board of Education. And you can bet that the troglodytes in Wyoming’s legislature will go right along.
Following the constitution is extreme to you? OK got it
If we were to follow theses folks interpretation of the Constitution, Clarence Thomas would be picking cotton for some white plantation owner, that is until he was strung up for having sex with a white woman.
The Supreme Court’s decision overruling Roe v. Wade is a disgrace and so is the Wyoming legislature’s acquiescence in this misogynistic program.
Ms. Jeramias I do not envy your position as gatekeeper for the back and forth on this particularly sensitive topic. The divisive SCOTUS ruling and its subsequent and less than incisive decision regarding a healthy respect for the genetalia belonging gender ‘A’ prompted me make an earlier comment to this forum calling for a decisive incision to the genetalia belonging to gender ‘B’. My comment was not posted. I freely admit that it was a base response, and if you happened to have found it offensive in any way –please accept my apologies. It was a feeble attempt at wit; meant to invoke the spirit of Swift.
Anyone that says being “secure in my papers” that was written in the #4a would not logically apply to my private parts is really a low bar for a SCOTUS appointment. Even a cavemen could understand that the Right to Privacy would extend to 9 months.
Now if they came to the ridiculous conclusion that since Abortion is not mentioned in the Constitution then States have to regulate it. If that logic prevails then wire tapping is a State issue since the phone was not mentioned in the #4a.
“The constitutional framers did not consider the possibility of stored digital content or electronic communications when they wrote these words. ”
https://users.cs.duke.edu/~chase/cps49s/carnivore-history.html
Clarification on Wyoming’s new abortion law is certainly needed. It’s crucial that both provider and patient be able to determine exactly what is and isn’t legal, and then communicate that to the public. Since this is now a state issue, hopefully the AG will render an opinion that will provide guidance, and law enforcement will make it perfectly clear how this new law will be enforced.
Not arguing for or against abortion, but where was all the uproar when people were losing jobs and freedoms because they refused to take the Covid vaccine – which really is not much of a vaccine but more of a treatment? And we still have potential job losses and personal freedoms because some refuse to take he risk with the vaccines and have already had Covid – and science backed data that they have similar or better immunity to subsequent cases of Covid than the vaccine alone. My body my choice I guess only applies to birthing people and the limited scope of when those birthing people are pregnant?
Pregnancy isn’t contagious like covid.
Apples and oranges, but you already knew that.
Mr. Davis. That argument doesn’t fly. It still a persons right to get the vax shot. It still ones body ones choice. Besides birth control is far more reliable then this farce of a vaccine was. Plus look at the blood clot data/heart issues/shedding of uterus it has caused. Look it up. Read it. You can’t ignore it. But either way vaccine or abortion one lives with results for balance of ones life.
Thank You
My previous comment should have said 24 to 28 weeks not months.
Women should have the right to determine their future and to exclusively make decisions concerning their bodies. No one, especially not men, should have any say in this matter. Until fully viable (24 to 28 months), the fetus is only and fully part of the woman’s body. It is her decision and hers along how she conducts her personal health care. Proceeding along the line directed by the Supreme Court how long will it be before birth control pills, condoms and vasectomies will be outlawed? Contact your elected officials to have control of women’s health care returned to them.
Condoms were actually illegal in USA for 51 years. We been that route.
I identify with the rage! But let’s try to take practical steps to alleviate our helplessness People in Wyoming and many other places are going to need money in order to access abortion. Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico,even Japan have legal abortion , as well as the great state of Colorado, also New Mexico, California, etc . You can contribute to Chelsea’s Fund or to a Planned Parenthood consortium which will divide your contribution among multiple funds. Meanwhile, if you don’t want a child we still have much better methods of birth control than we had when I was fertile. Use them!
Your common sense is uncommon
The complaints regarding termination of a pregnancy should have rules. If a pregnancy needs to be ended prematurly it should be allowed. This must be by very struct rules laid down by the state.
The execution of a human being is inhumane.
Yet this state also loves the Death Penalty
The last Wyoming execution was 45 years ago. The last death row inmate, Dale Eaton, had his sentence overturned in appeals. Eaton was sentenced more than 17 years ago. Last year Rep. Boner proposed getting rid of the death penalty (mostly due to cost), and the proposal lost – but it did get a vote (11-19) and it’s days are clearly numbered.
Hardly evidence of Wyoming ‘loving’ the death penalty.
Wyoming Constitution, Article 1, Section 38: Right of health care access.
(a) Each competent adult shall have the right to make his or her
own health care decisions. The parent, guardian or legal representative of
any other natural person shall have the right to make health care decisions
for that person.
(b) Any person may pay, and a health care provider may accept,
direct payment for health care without imposition of penalties or fines for
doing so.
(c) The legislature may determine reasonable and necessary
restrictions on the rights granted under this section to protect the health and
general welfare of the people or to accomplish the other purposes set forth in
the Wyoming Constitution.
(d) The state of Wyoming shall act to preserve these rights from
undue governmental infringement.
Check.
I also reviewed Article 1 Section 38 and would ask legal minds to weigh in on the question of whether this section provides for a women’s right to abortion in Wyoming. The SCOTUS decision allowed for states to individually address the issue. Have we or have we not decided that individual health care decisions (including abortions) are a right under our Constitution?
Gordon said, “I signed Wyoming’s prohibition on abortion bill because I believe that the decision to regulate abortions should be left to the states.” Bullshit! It should be left up to the woman. Period.
Used to be hard to find a “baby killer” physician. That changed? Or would you like state to force them to do it. Washington legislators tried that.
“…..left to the states.”
Whenever I read a sentence like that, I just insert the word “slavery”. Which was left to the states once upon a time. The argument is as dangerous as it was then.
Why would there be “vague carve outs in state law” regarding rape and incest? Oh right, because a bunch of conservative old white men wrote the laws.
The US is now officially a fascist state.
Leaving the states decide means fascist to you? OMG
Wyoming is not fit to be a state. It should be demoted to territorial status, governed by a DC appointee, and have NO congressional representation in congress until it proves itself worthy…which would likely be never.