Judge blocks abortion pill ban in Wyoming

A Teton County, Wyoming judge temporarily blocked a law Thursday that would have banned abortion drugs in the state starting July 1. The law will remain blocked until a lawsuit against it is resolved. Right now, the state protects the unborn after “viability,” and banning the pills would force women to undergo more invasive procedures, Judge Melissa Owens said. It’s the first law passed in the country to specifically protect babies from chemical abortions. 

Is Wyoming trying to protect the unborn with other laws? Another lawsuit has been making its way through Wyoming courts against a law that would protect most unborn babies, with exceptions for cases of rape, incest, or extreme risks to the mother’s life. The state constitution says residents can make their own healthcare decisions, so the judge is being asked to decide whether abortion is healthcare. In March, Judge Owens put a temporary restraining order on that law while the case proceeds. She also has combined the lawsuits against the two laws. 

Dig deeper: Read Adam M. Carrington’s column in WORLD Opinions on pro-life work a year after Roe v. Wade was overturned.