Wyoming bans abortion pills with Governor’s signature.

Governor of Wyoming, Mark Gordon, signed into law a bill outlawing the use of medication abortion pills earlier this month. The Republican-controlled legislature of the state passed this bill, which makes it illegal to “prescribe, dispense, distribute, sell or use any drug for the purpose of procuring or performing an abortion.” This move by Wyoming comes at a time when a federal judge in Texas is considering ordering a nationwide ban on the abortion pill mifepristone.

The two-page Wyoming bill also includes an exemption for “morning-after” pills and any treatment necessary to protect a woman “from an imminent peril that substantially endangers her life or health.” It also allows for the treatment of a “natural miscarriage according to currently accepted medical guidelines.” However, violation of the ban is to be treated as a criminal misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $9,000 and up to six months in jail.

Furthermore, a separate bill passed by state lawmakers to prohibit conventional abortion procedures except when necessary to protect the health and life of the mother, or in case of rape or incest, has been allowed by the governor without his signature. This bill also permits the ending of a pregnancy if doctors determine there to be a lethal abnormality of the fetus. Legal fights over abortion rights have increased in the United States following a Supreme Court ruling last year overturning the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing the procedure.

Governor Gordon acknowledged that abortion rights advocates who have already challenged Wyoming’s “trigger” abortion ban that went into effect after the Roe v. Wade decision have filed a lawsuit to block the newly passed Wyoming ban preemptively. The governor expressed concern that the enactment of the new abortion ban could create a new obstacle to swift resolution of the legal matter by the courts.

In conclusion, the passage of the Wyoming bill banning the use of medication abortion pills and the allowance of the separate bill restricting conventional abortion procedures except in certain cases can be seen as a reflection of the current political climate in the United States surrounding the issue of abortion. Legal challenges and battles over the rights of women to access safe abortion procedures will continue to play out in courts across the country, and we will wait to see how these cases will be resolved.#Wyoming #governor #signs #law #outlawing #abortion #pills #Reuters