UPDATE, 3/5/2025, 8:29p: The Wyoming state legislature voted on Wednesday to override Gov. Mark Gordon’s veto of a law requiring women to undergo an ultrasound before taking the abortion pill.

The House voted 22-9, and the Senate voted 45-16 to override the governor’s veto, putting in place a law that Gordon thought forced women to have an ‘unnecessary’ ultrasound.

“He’s very concerned about the psychological effects of this procedure,” Sen. Darin Smith of Cheyenne said of the governor, “but what about the psychological effects of having an abortion, for the rest of your life?”

The law takes effect immediately.

UPDATE, 3/5/2025: A Wyoming bill, HB64, that would have required women to undergo an ultrasound before taking the abortion pill has been vetoed by the governor.

Gov. Mark Gordon explained, “Mandating this intimate, personally invasive, and often medically unnecessary procedure goes too far.”

Dating a pregnancy before giving a woman the abortion pill is a vital step in ensuring that the abortion is completed. The further along in pregnancy a woman is, the riskier it is for her to take the abortion pill, which carries the risk of incomplete abortion. Two women in Georgia died after their abortions failed to complete when they were given the abortion pill. An incomplete abortion can lead to a life-threatening infection.

Gov. Gordon did, however, sign HB42, which requires abortion businesses to meet specific licensing requirements. A lawsuit over that bill is pending.

3/4/2025: Wyoming’s only abortion business stopped killing preborn children on Friday after Governor Mark Gordon signed HB42, which requires the state’s abortion facilities to meet special licensing requirements. The action spurred an immediate lawsuit from a pro-abortion coalition seeking to stop both HB42 and HB64, the latter of which would require women to receive an ultrasound at least 48 hours prior to taking the abortion pill.

Wellspring Health Access abortion facility in Casper announced that it will remain open to take phone calls from patients, but will no longer be committing abortions because it cannot meet the conditions established by the new law. That bill contains requirements that hallways be wide enough to fit an ambulance gurney, and that abortionists obtain admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. These requirements, often referred to as ‘TRAP’ laws (“targeted regulation of abortion providers”), are meant to keep women safe in the event emergency services need to be called — something that happens with alarming frequency at abortion facilities.

Last week, Wyoming lawmakers passed HB 64, which requires a woman to receive an ultrasound before a chemical abortion, but the bill has yet to be signed by Gordon. The plaintiffs included the bill in their lawsuit on the basis that it will “likely” take effect.

Abortion Doctors Share How The Most Common Abortion Procedures Take Place

In their lawsuit, the plaintiffs cite a 2012 Wyoming Constitutional amendment, the “Right of Health Care Access,” which allows an adult to make his or her own health care decisions. That amendment has been the linchpin in overturning the state’s pro-life protections to date; in November 2024, Teton County District Judge Melissa Owens overturned two of the state’s pro-life laws, which protected nearly all preborn children from abortion, calling them unconstitutional. Owens contended that since abortion is ‘healthcare,’ the state didn’t have the authority to impede on that ‘care’ due to its constitutional amendment.

“The newly approved Criminal TRAP Laws will strip Wyoming women and their families of their fundamental rights,” the lawsuit reads. They “attempt to indirectly ban abortion by regulating Wyoming women and abortion providers …”

Wyoming Speaker of the House Chip Nieman, however, defended both laws and said their main purpose is not to ban abortion, but to keep women safe.

“There’s no limit on the abortion. It’s simply the mechanics of it, and making sure we do our due diligence to provide safety and clarity on the procedures,” Nieman told WyoFile. It would be great to stop abortions, he said, “but I just can’t.”

The plaintiffs have asked the Natrona County District Court to block the new laws and declare them unconstitutional.

Editor’s Note, 3/5/25: This article originally stated that Wellspring was located in Cheyenne. It is located in Casper. We regret the error.

UPDATE, 3/5/2025, 8:29p: The Wyoming state legislature voted on Wednesday to override Gov. Mark Gordon’s veto of a law requiring women to undergo an ultrasound before taking the abortion pill.

The House voted 22-9, and the Senate voted 45-16 to override the governor’s veto, putting in place a law that Gordon thought forced women to have an ‘unnecessary’ ultrasound.

“He’s very concerned about the psychological effects of this procedure,” Sen. Darin Smith of Cheyenne said of the governor, “but what about the psychological effects of having an abortion, for the rest of your life?”

The law takes effect immediately.

UPDATE, 3/5/2025: A Wyoming bill, HB64, that would have required women to undergo an ultrasound before taking the abortion pill has been vetoed by the governor.

Gov. Mark Gordon explained, “Mandating this intimate, personally invasive, and often medically unnecessary procedure goes too far.”

Dating a pregnancy before giving a woman the abortion pill is a vital step in ensuring that the abortion is completed. The further along in pregnancy a woman is, the riskier it is for her to take the abortion pill, which carries the risk of incomplete abortion. Two women in Georgia died after their abortions failed to complete when they were given the abortion pill. An incomplete abortion can lead to a life-threatening infection.

Gov. Gordon did, however, sign HB42, which requires abortion businesses to meet specific licensing requirements. A lawsuit over that bill is pending.

3/4/2025: Wyoming’s only abortion business stopped killing preborn children on Friday after Governor Mark Gordon signed HB42, which requires the state’s abortion facilities to meet special licensing requirements. The action spurred an immediate lawsuit from a pro-abortion coalition seeking to stop both HB42 and HB64, the latter of which would require women to receive an ultrasound at least 48 hours prior to taking the abortion pill.

Wellspring Health Access abortion facility in Casper announced that it will remain open to take phone calls from patients, but will no longer be committing abortions because it cannot meet the conditions established by the new law. That bill contains requirements that hallways be wide enough to fit an ambulance gurney, and that abortionists obtain admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. These requirements, often referred to as ‘TRAP’ laws (“targeted regulation of abortion providers”), are meant to keep women safe in the event emergency services need to be called — something that happens with alarming frequency at abortion facilities.

Last week, Wyoming lawmakers passed HB 64, which requires a woman to receive an ultrasound before a chemical abortion, but the bill has yet to be signed by Gordon. The plaintiffs included the bill in their lawsuit on the basis that it will “likely” take effect.

Abortion Doctors Share How The Most Common Abortion Procedures Take Place

In their lawsuit, the plaintiffs cite a 2012 Wyoming Constitutional amendment, the “Right of Health Care Access,” which allows an adult to make his or her own health care decisions. That amendment has been the linchpin in overturning the state’s pro-life protections to date; in November 2024, Teton County District Judge Melissa Owens overturned two of the state’s pro-life laws, which protected nearly all preborn children from abortion, calling them unconstitutional. Owens contended that since abortion is ‘healthcare,’ the state didn’t have the authority to impede on that ‘care’ due to its constitutional amendment.

“The newly approved Criminal TRAP Laws will strip Wyoming women and their families of their fundamental rights,” the lawsuit reads. They “attempt to indirectly ban abortion by regulating Wyoming women and abortion providers …”

Wyoming Speaker of the House Chip Nieman, however, defended both laws and said their main purpose is not to ban abortion, but to keep women safe.

“There’s no limit on the abortion. It’s simply the mechanics of it, and making sure we do our due diligence to provide safety and clarity on the procedures,” Nieman told WyoFile. It would be great to stop abortions, he said, “but I just can’t.”

The plaintiffs have asked the Natrona County District Court to block the new laws and declare them unconstitutional.

Editor’s Note, 3/5/25: This article originally stated that Wellspring was located in Cheyenne. It is located in Casper. We regret the error.