Wyoming Supreme Court to hear arguments over abortion bans struck down by a judge

By MEAD GRUVER CHEYENNE Wyo AP Wyoming abortion bans put on hold and struck down by a lower court judge including the first explicit U S ban on abortion pills will be argued Wednesday before the state s Supreme Court Related Articles These abortion abolitionists want women who get abortion to face criminal charges Supreme Court appears divided over whether states can cut off Planned Parenthood funding Supreme Court weighs whether states can cut off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood Anti-abortion groups aim to end Planned Parenthood funding and suggest Musk s DOGE to get it done Texas medicinal assistant arrested in connection to clinics accused of providing illegal abortions Arguments are set for p m before the state high court in Cheyenne Abortion has remained legal in this conservative state since Teton County District Judge Melissa Owens in Jackson blocked a series of bans passed in the state since One law would ban abortion except to protect to a pregnant woman s life or in cases involving rape and incest The other would make Wyoming the only state to explicitly ban abortion pills though other states have instituted de facto bans on abortion medication by broadly prohibiting abortion Wyoming s laws prompted lawsuits filed by four women including two obstetricians and two nonprofits including Wellspring Strength Access the state s only abortion clinic They argued in court filings that the laws stand to harm the women s robustness well-being and livelihoods and violate a state constitutional amendment Attorneys for the state dispute those proposes and argue that abortion can t violate the constitution because it is not soundness care After blocking the laws from taking effect Owens sided with the women and nonprofits ruling in November that the laws violate the constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right of competent adults to make their own vitality care decisions Attorneys for Wyoming appealed to the state Supreme Court Meanwhile the same nonprofits and women are suing to challenge two laws passed by the Legislature last winter Wellspring Vitality Access has ceased providing either surgical or biological abortions since Feb because of the laws One of the laws requires abortion clinics specifically Wellspring Vitality Access in Casper as the state s only abortion clinic to be licensed as outpatient surgical centers Getting licensed would require costly renovations clinic functionaries say The law also requires the Wellspring Robustness Access physicians to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital even though that facility is under no obligation to grant such a request The other new law requires women to have an ultrasound at least hours before a pill abortion While attorneys for the state argue the Legislature has wide regulatory discretion to prevent rare mishaps during abortions the women and nonprofits argue that ultrasounds are a costly and burdensome requirement for women seeking pill abortions in Wyoming A judge in Casper is considering a request by the clinic and the others to suspend the new laws while their lawsuit proceeds Wellspring Soundness Access opened in almost a year later than planned after an arson attack caused heavy damage A woman convicted for setting fire to the building was sentenced to five years in prison