Wyoming judge rules three abortion-related laws unconstitutional

A Wyoming judge last week struck down three of the state's laws pertaining to abortion, including an ultrasound requirement, a requirement that abortion facilities register as ambulatory surgical centers, and a law banning off-label use of the abortion pill.

Key Takeaways:

• Wyoming judge Thomas Campbell has permanently overturned three abortion-related laws.

• Campbell ruled the laws were all unconstitutional, and, stunningly, claimed the abortion industry has proven "that abortion is inherently safe."

• The blocked laws include an ultrasound requirement, a requirement that abortion facilities register as ambulatory surgical centers, and a law banning off-label use of the abortion pill.

• Speaker of the Wyoming State House Chip Neiman confirmed that the state intends to appeal Campbell's ruling.

The Details:

The June 12 order from retired District Court Judge Thomas Campbell in Natrona County court declared the three laws unconstitutional, but doesn't result in any immediate changes, as each of the laws had already been temporarily blocked by Campbell during court rulings in 2025.

In his latest decision, Campbell said that the pro-abortion advocates who had challenged the three laws had proved “that abortion is inherently safe.”

The laws impacted by Campbell's ruling include HB 42, which had required abortion businesses to be registered as ambulatory surgical centers. This common-sense law ensures abortion facilities have things like hallways wide enough to fit ambulance gurneys and working elevators, yet Campbell claimed that assertions that such things help women (who may be injured and require medical attention) were "unsubstantiated."

Campbell's ruling also overturned HB 64, which required a woman to receive an ultrasound before undergoing an abortion in order to ensure she had informed consent. An ultrasound is also important before a woman undergoes an abortion to ensure proper gestational dating, as well as to rule out an ectopic pregnancy.

"The State offers no cogent evidence illustrating that a waiting period is necessary for any purpose,” Campbell said of the law.

Finally, it overturned HB 164, which bans the use of abortion pill off-label. As Cowboy State Daily explained, "Campbell also maintained that the carveout under Wyoming’s off-label protection law acted like a harm to those prescribing chemical abortions."

“As the Plaintiffs aptly note, mifepristone and misoprostol are the most common medications prescribed for a chemical abortion,” Campbell wrote, “the combination of which is considered an ‘off-label indication’ for the drugs.”

Speaker of the Wyoming State House Chip Neiman confirmed that the state intends to appeal Campbell's ruling, telling Wyoming Public Media he was "deeply saddened" at the decision.

“It just convinces me that our judiciary has zero respect for innocent life,” he said.

Commentary:

Abortion cannot be "inherently safe," as it intentionally ends the life of a human being in the womb. It is also not "inherently safe" because "Inherent" means "intrinsic," or " inseparably attached or connected." This claim seems akin to the abortion industry's debunked and repeated insistence that the abortion pill is "safer than Tylenol," which has been shown to be entirely false.

Recent analyses have shown the abortion pill is far riskier than the FDA's label indicates, with anywhere from 6-12% of women visiting ERs and experiencing serious adverse events as a result of taking the drug — but thanks to the removal of the FDA's requirements to report anything other than deaths, the abortion industry has effectively made abortion appear safer than it actually is.

The families of women like Jamie Lee Morales, Christina Stile, Lakisha Wilson, Jennifer Morbelli, Tonya Reaves, Christin Gilbert, Tamiia Russell, Keisha Atkins, and Cree Erwin-Sheppard — who died from abortions within and after the first trimester — Holly Patterson (who died from the abortion pill), __ who died from the abortion pill, along with Shanyce Thomas (who nearly lost her life after taking the abortion pill), would likely disagree with the idea that abortion is "inherently safe."

Zoom Out:

Wyoming lawmakers have consistently been at odds with the state's judicial system, having passed a number of pro-life protections in recent years that subsequently get halted by the courts.

In January, the state's Supreme Court struck down the state's law protecting virtually all preborn children from abortion, as well as a law banning abortion pills. In that ruling, the justices claimed that "ending fetal life" is "women's healthcare."

More recently, in April, a judge placed a temporary injunction on the state's "heartbeat law," which protects children from abortion after about six weeks in pregnancy.

The Bottom Line:

Common sense laws meant to protect women should abortion complications occur (which happens frequently), and to ensure women have informed consent before undergoing such a life-changing procedure should not be controversial. The abortion industry's fight against these laws further solidifies that the industry does not care about women, but only wants to see abortion expanded at all costs.