Bill that could close Wyoming’s only abortion business headed to governor’s desk

A Wyoming law that would require abortion facilities to receive licensing as ambulatory surgical centers — and therefore likely result in the closure of the state’s only abortion business — is headed to the desk of Governor Mark Gordon for signature.

HB 42 would require abortion facilities to meet the same requirements as ambulatory surgical centers. Such regulations often include requirements that hallways be wide enough to fit an ambulance gurney and abortionists obtain admitting privileges at a nearby hospital.

If the law takes effect, Wellspring Health Access in Casper, the state’s only abortion facility, would reportedly need to close, at least temporarily, as it has doors and hallways that would not be up to the new code.

While abortion advocates have decried the legislation, the bill’s supporters emphasize that its only goal is to keep women safe.

READ: A botched abortion 15 years ago left her without limbs. Now, she’s getting her day in court.

“[This bill] provides for basic common sense regulations for surgical abortions to protect the health and safety of women who choose to get a surgical abortion,” the bill’s sponsor Rep. Martha Lawley (R-Worland) told the House Labor Committee in January. “There can be botched abortions, and then there’s a need for a higher level of care for that patient.”

Live Action News has documented many of the countless instances in which women have been injured at abortion facilities, resulting in 911 calls. If an ambulance gurney can’t fit down a hallway and if there isn’t a care plan in place at a nearby hospital, the help the injured woman needs can be seriously delayed.

Gordon vetoed a near-identical bill last year with the claim that he didn’t want the law to detract from a court case that was considering the state’s law protecting preborn children from abortion. That law is still at the center of an ongoing legal battle; in November, District Judge Melissa Owens placed an injunction putting it to a halt, as she called it “unconstitutional.”

According to Wyoming Public Radio, if Gordon signs the bill it will go into effect immediately. He could also choose to let the law go into effect without his active signature.