Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon has signed legislation barring abortion pills in the state, making Wyoming the first state in the United States to do so.
“Governor Mark Gordon took another step today towards implementing a pro-life legislative agenda, signing a ban on chemical abortions. At the same moment, he signed House Bill 152, the Life is a Human Right Act.” Gordon’s office issued a statement late Friday night.
The governor expressed worry that Wyoming’s court struggle over abortion rights will complicate things further, especially with regard to the near-total prohibition on abortion (the Life is a Human Right Act), which Gordon permitted to become law without his signature and which takes effect Sunday. This second bill makes abortion illegal in Wyoming in most cases, with penalties of up to five years in jail and a $20,000 fine.
“Governor Gordon stressed that if the Legislature wanted finality, it should bring a constitutional amendment before the people and let them determine whether or not to add an abortion prohibition to the state constitution,” Gordon’s office stated.
If no lawsuits are filed, Wyoming’s ban on abortion pills will go into effect on July 1. After that date, it will be illegal to prescribe, sell, give away, or use any medicine to get or have an abortion.Violators might be fined $9,000 or imprisoned for up to six months, but pregnant women would be excluded from prosecution and punishment.
In June, the United States Supreme Court announced a judgment overturning the Roe v. Wade decision and restoring state governments’ ability to control abortions. After the verdict, a number of states imposed abortion restrictions.
Since then, Republicans in Congress have called for government limitations on the practice, while Democrats have advocated for federal safeguards.
In his State of the Union speech, US President Joe Biden said that if Congress adopted a nationwide ban on abortion, he would veto it.
