GOP Wyoming governor signs bill banning abortion pills

CHEYENNE, Wyoming (AP) — Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon signed a bill Friday night banning abortion pills in the state and also allowed a separate measure restricting abortion to become law without his signature.

The pills are already banned in 13 states with blanket bans on all forms of abortion, and 15 states already have limited access to abortion pills. The Republican governor’s decision comes after the issue of access to abortion pills took center stage this week in a Texas court. A federal judge has raised questions about a Christian group’s efforts to overturn the decades-old U.S. approval of a leading abortion drug, mifepristone.

Medical abortions became the preferred method of terminating a pregnancy in the United States even before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the ruling that protected abortion rights for nearly five decades. A combination of two mifepristone pills and another drug is the most common form of abortion in the United States

Wyoming’s ban on abortion pills would go into effect in July, pending any legal action that might delay that. The implementation date of the sweeping legislation banning all abortions that Gordon allowed to enter into law is not specified in the bill.

In a statement, Gordon expressed concern that this latest law, dubbed the Life is a Human Rights Act, would result in a lawsuit that would “delay any resolution of the constitutionality of Wyoming’s abortion ban.” .

He noted that earlier in the day plaintiffs in an ongoing lawsuit had challenged the new law in case he did not issue a veto.

“I believe this issue needs to be resolved as soon as possible so that the issue of abortion in Wyoming can finally be resolved, and that’s best done with a vote of the people,” Gordon, a Republican, said in a statement. communicated.

In a statement, ACLU of Wyoming Advocacy Director Antonio Serrano criticized Gordon’s decision to sign a ban on abortion pills, which are already banned in a number of states that completely ban all types of abortion.

“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 limited access to the pills, six require an in-person medical visit. These laws could withstand legal challenges; states have long had authority over how doctors, pharmacists and other providers practice medicine.

States also set the rules for telemedicine consultations used to prescribe medications. Typically, this means that healthcare providers in states with restrictions on abortion pills could face penalties, such as fines or license suspension, for attempting to send pills through the post office.

Women have already crossed state lines to places where access to abortion pills is easier. This trend should increase.

Since Roe’s overthrow last June, abortion restrictions have fallen to the states, and the landscape has rapidly changed. Thirteen states now enforce abortion bans at any time during pregnancy, and another, Georgia, bans it once heart activity can be detected, or at about six weeks gestation.

Courts have suspended enforcement of abortion bans or deep restrictions in Arizona, Indiana, Montana, Ohio, South Carolina, Utah and Wyoming. Idaho courts have forced the state to allow abortions in medical emergencies.