Republican Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon signed legislation making it illegal to prescribe or dispense abortion pills.
The statement signed Friday comes at a time when the future of abortion drugs is at stake as a federal judge in Texas weighs whether to overturn the Food and Drug Administration’s 2000 approval of mifepristone, part of the two-pill abortion regime , should cancel.
Republican Senator Tim Salazar, the sponsor of the bill, called after signing that “my promise to protect the unborn child has been fulfilled”.
“Wyoming is the first in the US to ban chemical abortions. Over 90% of abortions in Wyoming are chemical abortions,” he said on Facebook. “The help of so many stakeholders made this possible. Thank you very much.”
The measure, which goes into effect on July 1, marks the latest salvo in the abortion pill fight between the Red States and the Biden administration, which in January made permanent pandemic-era rules allowing the pills to be taken by Prescribe and mail telemedicine.
Fifteen states have enacted laws requiring doctors to prescribe the pills. Six of those states also require an in-person visit to the doctor, according to the Pro Choice Guttmacher Institute.
Wyoming ACLU advocacy director Antonio Serrano said that “a person’s health, not politics, should guide important medical decisions — including the decision to have an abortion.”
“We will continue to challenge efforts that contradict our right to make our own reproductive health decisions,” the ACLU said.
The law does not apply to the so-called “morning after pill,” which is taken before conception or before pregnancy is proven, and exempts cases where the drugs are used to treat miscarriage.
US District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk conducted an oral hearing last week in Amarillo, Texas, over a challenge by pro-life medical groups to the FDA’s approval of mifepristone. A decision to revoke or suspend the permit could be made public at any time.
Governor Gordon also allowed a bill banning most abortions to become law without his signature, noting that a similar bill was temporarily blocked last year pending the outcome of a lawsuit challenging the measure’s constitutionality.
“I understand the Legislature’s efforts to improve Wyoming’s legal framework for living and preemptively clarify some of these legal issues with the various legislative findings of HEA 0088,” Mr. Gordon said in a letter to the Secretary of State. “However, I believe that this issue must be decided as soon as possible in order for the abortion issue to be finally resolved in Wyoming, and the best way to do that is through a referendum.”
Adam Schwend, SBA Pro-Life America Western Regional Director, said the bills make Wyoming “one of the most hostile states in the country.”
“According to data from Medicaid, the rate of emergency room visits related to chemical abortions has increased by 500% since the approval of mifepristone,” Mr. Schwend said. “Wyoming’s new law will limit the ability of the abortion industry to compromise the health and safety of women and girls.”
Source : www.washingtontimes.com