Wyoming governor plans to appeal to state supreme court after judge blocks state’s pro-life laws
Caroline MolloyA Wyoming district court judge has blocked two of the state’s pro-life laws from going into effect, siding with the pro-abortion plaintiffs who brought a lawsuit against the state.
On November 18, Teton County District Court Judge Melissa Owens issued the permanent injunction against Wyoming’s “Life is a Human Right Act” (House Enrolled Act 88) and its law prohibiting chemical abortions (Senate Enrolled Act 93), claiming that they are “unconstitutional,” according to Jackson Hole News and Guide.
In March 2023, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon signed a prohibition on chemical abortions, which are typically committed through a two-pill regimen of mifepristone and then misoprostol, and allowed the “Life is a Human Right Act” to go into effect. The “Life is a Human Right Act” prohibits all abortion in the state, with few exceptions. Both were supposed to go into effect immediately, but pro-abortion plaintiffs sued.
According to Cowboy State Daily, the plaintiffs challenging the laws include an abortion facility, an abortionist, an abortion support group, an obstetrician/gynecologist, and two women. The defendants include the state of Wyoming, Gordon, Wyoming Attorney General Bridget Hill, Teton County Sheriff Matthew Carr, and Jackson, Wyoming, Chief of Police Michelle Weber, according to the summary judgment order.
News and Guide reported on November 19 that Gordon intends to appeal the decision to the state’s Supreme Court, which had previously declined to rule on the case and sent the case to Owens.
