Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon (R) signed the bill On Friday, it banned the use of abortion drugs in the state, making it the first country to specifically ban that form of abortion other than outright banning the procedure.
A blanket ban on all forms of abortion is already in place in 13 states, and 15 restrict access to abortion drugs, but Wyoming has a separate law banning the use of abortion drugs. It is the first state to sign the . abortion.
Conservatives have been fighting access to abortion drugs in recent months after the first ban on abortion took effect after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June.
Earlier this week, a U.S. District Court judge in Texas heard a legal challenge to the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of mifepristone, a drug that blocks hormones necessary for pregnancy. Mifepristone is one of her two abortion drugs available nationwide and has been used by more than 3 million people since the FDA approved her in 2000 to induce abortions up to 10 weeks’ gestation. has been used by women.
Wyoming’s abortion drug ban is set to go into effect in July if not prevented by legal action.
Gordon said in a release that he had “allowed” the update Prohibition of abortion Entry into force prohibiting the procedure in all cases except in cases of rape, incest, fatal fetal abnormalities that prevent the survival of the fetus and save the life of the mother.
Anyone who illegally performs an abortion can face up to five years in prison or a $20,000 fine, or both.
The law, which aims to replace the triggering abortion ban that went into effect after Law was overturned, has been suspended by a court in a lawsuit alleging it violated the state constitution. .
Gordon said he fears the new law will lead to new lawsuits and further delays in determining the constitutionality of Wyoming’s abortion ban. He said Congress continues to make “tweaks” to state abortion laws each year, delaying final decisions from courts.
He said Congress should hold a constitutional amendment referendum on behalf of the people to determine whether they want the ban in the state constitution.
“If Congress wishes to explicitly address how the Wyoming Constitution treats abortion and defines healthcare, those issues will be subject to scrutiny through the amendment process set forth in Article 20 of the Wyoming Constitution. It should be voted on directly by the people,” Gordon said.
Antonio Serrano, advocacy director for the American Civil Liberties Union in Wyoming, condemned Gordon’s decision to sign the abortion pill ban.
“People’s health, not politics, should guide major medical decisions, including abortion decisions,” Serrano said in a statement.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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