Wyoming governor signs 'heartbeat bill' protecting preborn children

Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon has signed a bill into law protecting preborn children from abortion once there is a detectable heartbeat.

Key Takeaways:

• In January, the Wyoming Supreme Court overturned the state's pro-life laws and refused a request to reconsider the ruling earlier this month.

• HB 126 was introduced during a budget session in February.

• After passing both the House and Senate, Gordon signed the bill into law, though he expressed reservations.

The Backstory:

In January, the Wyoming Supreme Court struck down two of the state's pro-life laws. The first protected nearly all preborn children from abortion, while the second banned abortion pills within the state.

In the ruling, the justices wrote that the laws violate a woman's ability to make "decisions" about her own health care, even though they also acknowledged that induced abortion — the intentional targeting of a preborn child with the intention of killing them — ends a life.

“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 (emphasis added)

The office of Special Assistant Attorney General Jay Jerde issued a petition asking for the court to re-hear the case, but in March, the Wyoming Supreme Court refused. Later, during his State of the State address, Gordon called on legislators to again work to protect preborn lives from abortion.

“Protecting life is the most serious responsibility entrusted to the government,” Gordon said. “The question of abortion deserves careful deliberation. And I urge this legislature to take up this issue earnestly.”

The Details:

On March 9, Gordon signed HB 126 into law, meaning virtually all preborn children in Wyoming are again protected from abortion. There is an exception in the bill for medical emergency, meaning an abortion can be committed if the life of the mother is in danger or if she is risking "serious or irreversible impairment of a major bodily function." However, an induced abortion, in which the life of a preborn child is intentionally taken, is not medically necessary.

The Pro-Life Reply to: "Is Abortion Ever Medically Necessary?"

In a statement, Gordon said that while he did sign the bill into law, he did so with reservation, knowing it would inevitably cause more litigation:

"Today I signed the Human Heartbeat Act (HEA 29) into law, reaffirming my view that life is sacred. I resoundingly share the determination to defend the lives of unborn children and support the intentions behind the Human Heartbeat Act. Yet, I share concerns with many others, regrettably, that this Act represents another well-intentioned but likely fragile legal effort with significant risk of ending in the courts rather than in lasting, durable policy.

The solution I had hoped for is to put the issue before a vote of the people of Wyoming from whom, according to Article 1 of our Wyoming Constitution, all governmental power derives. While I support the upright, moral intentions behind HEA 29, I believe this Act very likely puts us back in the all too familiar and unfortunate territory of pro-life litigation.

Rather than finding a remedy that saves the unborn, I fear we have only added another chapter to the sad saga of repeatedly trying to force a specific solution that will not uphold the legal scrutiny of the courts."

The Bottom Line:

Wellspring Health Access, the only abortion facility in the state, has already begun cancelling abortions. However, president Julie Burkhart also said the abortion business is already preparing for a court battle.