Wyoming Governor Bans Abortion Pills

Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon signed an initiative Friday banning abortion pills in the state and allowed a separate measure restricting abortion to become law without his signing it.

The pills are already banned in 13 states that ban all forms of abortion, and another 15 have limited access to them. The Republican politician’s decision comes after the drug garnered attention this week in Texas, where a federal judge challenged a Christian group’s attempt to overturn the country’s decades-old approval of the abortion-producing drug, mifepristone.

Medical abortions became the preferred method of terminating a pregnancy in the United States even before the Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade, who protected the right to board for nearly five decades. The most common method in the country is the combination of a pill of mifepristone and another of a different medicine.

The ban in Wyoming will go into effect in July, pending any legal action that might delay it. The bill did not specify the date of implementation of broader legislation banning all abortions.

After a previous veto decreed by the courts, abortion remains legal in the state until the fetus is viable, that is, when it can survive outside the womb.

In a statement, Gordon expressed concern that the so-called Life is a Human Right Act, which restricts abortion, leads to lawsuits that “delay resolutions on the constitutionality of the ban” in Wyoming.

He stressed that hours before, detractors who had already promoted a previous lawsuit, challenged the new law in case he does not issue a veto.

“I think this issue needs to be decided as soon as possible so that the abortion issue in Wyoming can be definitively resolved, and the best way to do that is with a vote of the people,” the Republican said.

In a statement, the director of the ACLU of Wyoming, Antonio Serrano, censured the governor’s decision to sign the law.

“A person’s health, not politics, should guide important medical decisions, including the decision to have an abortion,” Serrano said.

Of the 15 states that have restricted access to the pills, six made it mandatory for the patient to visit the doctor in person.

Those laws could withstand court challenges; States have long had authority over the behavior of doctors, pharmacists, and other medical providers.

States also set the rules for telemedicine consultations used to obtain prescriptions. This typically means that health providers in states with abortion pill restrictions could face penalties, such as fines or license suspension, if they attempt to mail the pills.

Women travel from state to state where abortion pills are easier to access. An increase in this trend is expected.

Since the reversal of Roe v. Wade, states decide abortion restrictions, and the landscape has changed rapidly.

Thirteen states have bans on abortion at any time during pregnancy and one more, Georgia, prohibits it if fetal heart activity is detected, or when the gestation has reached about six weeks.

Courts have suspended abortion bans or harsh restrictions in Arizona, Indiana, Montana, Ohio, South Carolina, Utah and Wyoming. Courts in Idaho have compelled the state to allow abortion in cases of medical emergencies.

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