Wyoming legislature approves medication and surgical abortion restrictions
CHEYENNE – The Wyoming House and Senate passed a bill on Friday that would significantly regulate surgical and medication abortions at Casper’s Wellspring Health Access, the last remaining legal clinic in the state.
The bill, which is expected to be signed into law before the end of March, reclassifies abortion clinics as ambulatory surgical centers and requires the facility and the doctors who perform abortions to be licensed. It also creates a criminal penalty of $1,000 for violations and civil liabilities for damages resulting from abortions,
Republican Marsha Lawley, the bill’s sponsor, emphasized that while she voted for both of Wyoming’s abortion restrictions last year, her motivations for the legislation came from a place of regulatory concern, not because she wanted to prohibit abortion.
“I was focusing on the fact that we really weren’t regulating surgical abortions in particular, or even chemical abortions,” Lawley said. “While it is legal in Wyoming, we need to look at the safety of women that are choosing abortions.”
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Lawley said that she consulted with pro-life medical doctors who specialize in obstetrics and gynecology (OBGYN) and lawmakers in other states when authoring the bill, but did not name any specific medical groups or associations.
The bill comes in the wake of two abortion bans that passed in Wyoming’s 2023 legislature, one that made exceptions for rape, incest or the life of the mother and another that sought to prohibit the use of abortion pills.
Both bills are under injunction and scheduled for an April court hearing.
An amendment added by Rep. Chip Neiman states that women must have an ultrasound at least 48 hours before their procedural abortion, or before taking pills for a medical abortion. The bill states that this will allow the person seeking an abortion to “hear the heartbeat of the unborn child if the heartbeat is audible.”
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Cheyenne-area OBGYN Rene Hinkle does not believe the bill is backed by medical science, or a desire for safety.
“There are procedures that are far more dangerous and have a much higher complication rate that are done in clinics and doctors’ offices across the state. And they’re not intending to regulate those,” Hinkle said. “It’s disingenuous and prejudicial.”
The bill’s passage is happening as Wyoming suffers from an acute shortage of OBGYNs, a phenomenon documented by the local paper Wyofile. Studies show that abortion bans reduce a state’s appeal to prospective OBGYNs, a concern echoed by Hinkle.
Julie Burkhart, founder of Wellspring Health Access, is used to an uphill battle. Wellspring was set on fire in 2022, with a conviction for the arsonist secured in 2023. Burkhart said that Wellspring plans to face the political obstacles head-on.
“Will we continue to practice in Wyoming if we get an injunction? Absolutely yes. I have worked in several hostile states, and my attitude is to find solutions, not problems,” Burkhart said.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Wyoming's new abortion regulations could mean the end of last clinic
