Abortions in all but the earliest weeks will remain illegal in Wyoming until at least late March. Meanwhile, Wyoming’s lone procedural abortion clinic has shifted operations significantly to comply with what is almost a total ban. 

“It has definitely affected our patient load and the patients that we would otherwise be able to see,” Julie Burkhart, president of Wellspring Health Access in Casper, told WyoFile on Wednesday. “Unfortunately, we are having to refer people out of state and turn people away from our clinic. It’s cut our patient load in half, if not more.”

Gov. Mark Gordon addresses lawmakers Monday, Feb. 9, 2026, during his State of the State address at the Capitol in Cheyenne. (Mike Vanata/WyoFile)

A group of Wyoming abortion rights defenders, including Wellspring, filed a motion March 10 asking a judge to add the Human Heartbeat Act to an ongoing lawsuit against two other anti-abortion laws. The motion came the day after Gov. Mark Gordon signed the new legislation into law, while predicting that it would land the state in court. The new law went into effect immediately. 

The law bars abortions, except in the case of a medical emergency, if the fetus has a detectable heartbeat, which can occur as early as six weeks. If abortion providers fail to make a determination of a fetal heartbeat, they could face up to five years in prison or a fine up to $10,000, plus loss of a medical license.

The Wyoming Supreme Court struck down a pair of abortion bans in January as unconstitutional. The plaintiffs’ motion asserts that the Human Heartbeat Act “involves the same fundamental problem as the prior laws before the Court,” in that it “transgresses the constitutional guarantee” of individuals’ ability “to make health care decisions without interference from the government.”

The group requested that the hearing to amend the lawsuit be scheduled for March 19, when a hearing for the two other anti-abortion laws was already scheduled. But state defendants objected, stating in a court filing that the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure require motions to be served “at least 14 days before the hearing on the motion.” The defendants asked for the hearing to be scheduled on or after April 6. The court ultimately set the hearing for March 30. 

Meanwhile, Wellspring Health Access has shifted to follow the new law, Burkhart said. 

The clinic is serving patients whose last menstrual period lines up with the tight timeline, Burkhart told WyoFile, and is abiding by the law by screening for a heartbeat. That entails an invasive procedure known as a transvaginal ultrasound, in which a wand-like transducer is inserted into a woman’s vagina. 

If the judge does allow for the new law to be tacked onto the existing lawsuit, plaintiffs would still have to make a separate request for the law to be blocked while the case unfolds. 

“While we wait, we have to comply with the law,” Burkhart said. 

The clinic started a GoFundMe page following the new anti-abortion law’s enactment to support the facility during the legal fight. “We need support to support our staff while we are unable to see patients in a regular capacity,” the page reads.Though Wyoming patients can only receive procedural abortions at Wellspring, two providers in Jackson offer medication-abortion services. One of those providers is also a plaintiff in the ongoing legal challenges.

For more legislative coverage, click here.

Maya Shimizu Harris covers public safety for WyoFile. She was previously a freelance writer and the state politics reporter for the Casper Star-Tribune.

Katie Klingsporn reports on outdoor recreation, public lands, education and general news for WyoFile. She’s been a journalist and editor covering the American West for 20 years. Her freelance work has...

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  1. They can drive the extra few miles to Colorado. CO is all about that ending future humans thing

    Reply
  2. Reply

  3. It seems like the last Wyoming Supreme Court ruling would include this debacle. Our country and state has become a real joke.

    Reply