CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A state judge on Monday struck down Wyoming's overall ban on abortion and its first-in-the-nation explicit prohibition on the use of medication to end pregnancy in line with voters in yet more states voicing support for abortion rights. Teton County District Judge Melissa Owens' ruling was consistent with her three previous orders since 2022 to block the laws while they were disputed in court.
The ruling marks another victory for abortion rights advocates after voters in seven states passed measures in support of access. One Wyoming law that Owens said violated women's rights under the state constitution bans abortion except to protect to a pregnant woman's life or in cases involving rape and incest. The other made Wyoming the only state to explicitly ban abortion pills, though other states have instituted de facto bans on the medication by broadly prohibiting abortion.
The laws were challenged by four women, including two obstetricians, and two nonprofit organizations. One of the groups, Wellspring Health Access, opened as the state’s first full-service abortion clinic in years in April 2023 following an arson attack in 2022. “This is a wonderful day for the citizens of Wyoming — and women everywhere who should have control over their own bodies," Wellspring Health Access President Julie Burkhart said in a statement.
The recent elections saw voters in Missouri clear the way to undo one of the nation’s most restrictive abortion bans in a series.
