A Wyoming judge has blocked a new state law banning abortions after the early stages of pregnancy while a lawsuit challenging the provision moves forward.
It is the first court ruling affecting the legal status of abortion in Wyoming since the state Supreme Court hit down A sweeping ban on abortion and abortion pills was enacted in January, as the laws were found to violate the state constitution.
The new law, which bans abortion after fetal cardiac activity is detected, will likely be struck down on similar grounds, Natrona County Judge Dan Forgey wrote in granting a temporary restraining order against him on Friday.
Wyoming’s only abortion clinic, Wellspring Health Access, and others challenging the new law welcomed the latest ruling after they successfully overturned a sweeping abortion ban.
“For nearly two months, this deeply harmful abortion ban has dramatically reduced our ability to provide care to people in Wyoming,” Julie Burkhart, president of Wellspring Health Access, said in a statement.
Currently, 13 states have bans on abortion at all stages of pregnancy, with rare exceptions. Four other states — Iowa, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina — have bans that begin either six weeks after pregnancy or when heart activity can be detected. This often happens before a woman realizes she is pregnant.
The state ban has been allowed to take effect since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 and ended the right to abortion nationwide. Since then, court battles over state bans and restrictions have focused on the language used in state constitutions.
The Wyoming Supreme Court found that a recent abortion ban passed by the state Legislature violates a state constitutional amendment approved by voters since 2012 that says competent adults have the right to make their own health care decisions.
The Republican-dominated Legislature responded by banning abortion after the detection of fetal heart activity. Governor Mark Gordon, Republican, Signed it into law In March.
Wyoming should be able to support the latest law by “demonstrating its urgent concern for protecting human life,” Gordon said in a statement Monday.
He called on lawmakers, however, to pass a state constitutional amendment banning abortion that would go to voters for consideration.
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Jeff Mulvihill in Haddonfield, New Jersey, contributed.