A Wyoming judge has blocked three abortion laws, including a mandatory ultrasound requirement and a 48-hour waiting period for patients seeking abortions. The laws, passed by lawmakers in 2025, were deemed unconstitutional by Retired District Judge Thomas T. C. Campbell, who ruled that they violated a 2012 amendment to the Wyoming Constitution that protects adults’ rights to make their own healthcare decisions.
Background
The amendment, which was enacted by voters in 2012, has been cited in several court cases as a protection for individuals’ rights to make their own healthcare decisions, including the decision to have an abortion. In January, the Wyoming Supreme Court struck down two statewide abortion bans, citing the same provision. Another judge blocked enforcement of the state’s new ‘heartbeat’ bill in April, also citing the amendment.
The laws that were struck down on Friday included a set of new and more stringent regulations that critics said were intended to make operating an abortion clinic in Wyoming unfeasible. The judge found that the state had failed to provide evidence backing its claims that the laws were necessary to protect women’s health.
Pro-life advocates in the Legislature have promised to continue their attempts to end the practice of abortion in Wyoming. ‘We will not quit, we will not give up and we will not stop the fight to protect innocent life,’ said Speaker of the House Chip Neiman.
The president of Wyoming’s only abortion clinic, Casper’s Wellspring Health Access, hailed the decision, saying that it would allow the clinic to continue providing comprehensive reproductive health care, including abortion, to the people of Wyoming.
Original reporting: Buckrail (Jackson WY) — read the source article.
