Wyoming AG asks state Supreme Court to reconsider its 'mistakes' in abortion ruling

The Wyoming Attorney General's office has filed a petition asking the state Supreme Court to rehear a case regarding the state's preborn protections.

The state Supreme Court ruled earlier this month that those protections were unconstitutional, thereby overturning the laws. In its petition, the AG's office contends the court made 'mistakes' in its ruling.

Key Takeaways:

• Wyoming Special Assistant Attorney General Jay Jerde has filed a petition asking the Supreme Court to reconsider a case against two laws that protect the majority of preborn children in the state from abortion.

• The court ruled earlier this month that both laws were unconstitutional.

• Jerde contends that the court made "mistakes" in its ruling, and has asked that it reconsider the case.

The Backstory:

Earlier this month, the Wyoming Supreme Court struck down two of the state's pro-life laws: the Life is a Human Right Act, which protected nearly all preborn children from abortion, and a law banning abortion pills.

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In its ruling, the court called both laws unconstitutional because they violate a woman's right to make "health care choices," going so far as to admit that abortion is the taking of a life, but determining that a woman's "decision" trumps all.

“Although a woman’s decision to have an abortion ends the fetal life, the decision is, nevertheless, one she makes concerning her own health care,” Wyoming Chief Justice Lynne Boomgaarden wrote for the court.

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The Details:

On Tuesday, Special Assistant Attorney General Jay Jerde filed a petition for a rehearing, claiming that the Supreme Court justices made “numerous mistakes or errors of law” in ignoring legal precedent and disregarding the right to life embedded in the state's constitution in overturning the pro-life laws.

Jerde noted that the justices failed to recognize “that, from conception, an unborn baby has a fundamental right to life under article 1, section 2 of the Wyoming Constitution.” His petition stated that the Life is a Human Right Act is “reasonable and necessary to protect the constitutionally protected rights of both the unborn baby and the pregnant woman.”

According to Wyoming Public Media, "Jerde said the court must either recognize that an 'unborn baby' has a constitutionally protected right to life, or explain why it does not."

In the petition, Jerde also said the court misinterpreted previous state law regarding a person's ability to make their own health care decisions, and that the justices abandoned legal precedent in applying certain legal tests and determining evidence.

What's Next:

According to Wyoming Public Media, the other party in the case — the abortion advocates who initially challenged the state's pro-life laws — now have a chance to respond to Jerde's petition with their own claims. The Supreme Court will then decide whether or not it will reconsider the case.