Wyoming Supreme Court Strikes Down Pro-Life Laws Banning Abortions

The Wyoming Supreme Court has struck down two pro-life laws banning most abortions, allowing the killing of unborn babies to continue.

In a 4-1 ruling on Tuesday, the court declared the bans unconstitutional, citing a 2012 state constitutional amendment that protects the right to make health care decisions, despite the fact that killing babies in abortions is a denial of health care for unborn babies.

The laws, passed in 2023, included a comprehensive prohibition on abortion with exceptions for rape, incest or to save the mother’s life, and the nation’s first explicit ban on abortion pills.

“A woman has a fundamental right to make her own health care decisions, including the decision to have an abortion,” the ruling states.

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“The State did not meet its burden of demonstrating the Abortion Laws further the compelling interest of protecting unborn life without unduly infringing upon the woman’s fundamental right to make her own health care decisions. As such, the Abortion Laws do not constitute reasonable and necessary restrictions on a pregnant woman’s right to make her own health care decisions.”

The decision affirmed a lower court ruling by Teton County District Judge Melissa Owens, who blocked the bans in 2023 and struck them down as unconstitutional in November 2024.

Gov. Mark Gordon, a Republican, expressed disappointment and urged lawmakers to pursue a constitutional amendment to ban abortion, putting the issue before voters.

“This ruling may settle, for now, a legal question, but it does not settle the moral one, nor does it reflect where many Wyoming citizens stand, including myself. It is time for this issue to go before the people for a vote,” Gordon said.

The justices noted that the 2012 amendment was not originally intended for abortion but suggested lawmakers could seek voter approval for changes.

“But lawmakers could ask Wyoming voters to consider a constitutional amendment that would more clearly address this issue,” the justices wrote.

The ruling means killing unborn babies remains legal in Wyoming, with abortions continuing at Wellspring Health Access in Casper, the state’s only abortion business.

In a related development last year, another judge blocked additional pro-life measures, including requirements for abortion centers to be licensed as ambulatory surgical centers and for ultrasounds before chemical abortions.

Senior Assistant Attorney General John J. Woykovsky defended the ultrasound law, stating, “Before a woman obtains a chemical abortion, she should have full information. And part of that information is an ability to visualize the fetus and the ability to hear the heartbeat.”

But retired District Judge Thomas Campbell ruled against the state.

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