Judge Declares Wyoming's Abortion Bans Unconstitutional
By Robin Foster HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, Nov. 19, 2024 -- Two Wyoming abortion bans, including the first state law to prohibit the use of abortion pills, violate the state's constitution, a judge ruled Monday.
In her decision, Judge Melissa Owens, of Teton County District Court, wrote that both a ban on medication abortion and a broader ban on all methods of abortion “impede the fundamental right to make health care decisions for an entire class of people, pregnant women,” the New York Times reported.
“The abortion statutes suspend a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions during the entire term of a pregnancy and are not reasonable or necessary to protect the health and general welfare of the people,” Owens added in her ruling.
The decision blocks both laws permanently, although the state is expected to appeal the ruling, the Times reported. The state attorney general’s office and the governor’s office could not be reached for comment Monday night, the newspaper added.
What legal precedent did Owens turn to in making her decision?
An amendment to the state's constitution, sparked by concerns over the Affordable Care Act and approved by an overwhelming majority of the state’s voters in 2012, guarantees adults the right to make their own health care decisions, the Times reported.
Still, the state argued in court last year that even though doctors and other health providers must be involved in abortions, there were many instances in which abortion was not “health care” because “it’s not restoring the woman’s body from pain, physical disease or sickness,” the Times reported.
The state also argued that the 2012 constitutional amendment did not apply to abortion because terminating a pregnancy affected not just the woman making the decision, but the fetus as well.
However, Owens rejected both of those arguments soundly in her ruling.
“The state did not present any evidence refuting or challenging the extensive medical testimony presented by the plaintiffs,” she wrote.
Dr. Giovannina Anthony, an obstetrician-gynecologist and abortion provider who was one of the plaintiffs in the case, told the Times she was “grateful and relieved that the judge agreed that abortion is health care and that abortion bans violate the rights of pregnant women. This is not the end of the fight in Wyoming, but for now we can continue to provide evidence-based care without fear of a prison sentence.”
Sources
- New York Times
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted November 2024
Read this next
Burnout and Stress Continue to Plague the Nursing Profession
WEDNESDAY, April 30, 2025 -- The nursing workforce remains under immense pressure due to stress, burnout, and persistent short staffing, according to a report released by Cross...
Milwaukee Closes More Schools to Address Lead Crisis
WEDNESDAY, April 30, 2025 — Milwaukee will temporarily close two more elementary schools as it works to tackle a lead crisis in its public school buildings. The school...
New HHS Ad Campaign Urges Americans to 'Take Back Your Health'
WEDNESDAY, April 30, 2025 — U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is preparing to launch a multimillion-dollar public health campaign, according to...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.