On Friday, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon allowed the passage of a bill that made the state the first in the United States to ban abortion pills. This is all going on while Wyoming is still trying to settle the matter of abortion overall.
Wyoming was one of several states to have trigger laws go into place to largely ban abortions when the Supreme Court overturned Roe V. Wade in 2022. That trigger law was then blocked by the courts, a case that still has not quite been settled. Since then, however, Governor Gordon has voiced his willingness to let another bill pass through the legislature without his signature to ban abortions overall.
But there is still the matter of the abortion pill ban. It’s important to note that Wyoming isn’t technically the first state to put a ban on abortion pills, as several states have so far put extensive bans on the procedure, and medication abortion largely falls under the umbrella of these bans. What makes the Wyoming ban unique is that it is the first instance of a state specifically outlawing the medication abortion method.
The law makes the distribution of abortion pills punishable by up to six months in prison and a 9,000-dollar fine. It has been noted, however, that the law is not meant to target women who are seeking medication abortion for themselves. It is more of a punishment aimed at those that distribute the pills. This law is set to take effect on July 1.
The new abortion ban was set to go into effect Sunday, limiting abortions to only a few different cases. Under this law, abortions would only be permitted in the cases of rape, incest, or if the life of the mother is in danger. There are also exceptions for if the life of the fetus is in danger or if it is an ectopic pregnancy. Those that violate this new law could face up to five years in prison and a fine of $20,000.
With so much talk circulating over the matter of abortion throughout the state, Governor Mark Gordon told the legislature in a public letter that it may come down to settling it through the state Constitution.
“If the Legislature wants to expressly address how the Wyoming Constitution treats abortion and defines healthcare, then those issues should be vetted through the amendment process laid out in Article 20 of the Wyoming Constitution and voted on directly by the people.”
Wyoming is not the only state grappling with regulations or bans surrounding medication abortion. There is a case currently going through a federal district court in Texas that could see Mifepristone, the first medication in the two-part medication abortion regimen, banned nationwide. In California, Governor Gavin Newsom has broken a contract with Walgreens due to the company’s decision to not distribute abortion pills in certain states that have put abortion restrictions in place. The contract was worth $54 million.
