A Wyoming law signed Friday prohibits chemical forms of abortion from the point pregnancy can be confirmed through conventional medical testing.
“I have acted without bias and after extensive prayer, to allow these bills to become law,” Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon (R) wrote in a letter to Secretary of State Chuck Gray, as reported by the Wyoming Tribune Eagle.
Gordon, who embraces a pro-life policy agenda, said he signed the chemical abortion ban because it “strengthens the protections for the unborn,” the outlet also said.
The law, which becomes effective July 1, excludes contraceptives used prior to conception, treatment of natural miscarriage, and treatment to protect a woman’s physical health from imminent peril. Pregnancies that are the result of incest or sexual assault are also excluded from the new law.
The exceptions to the law regarding the preservation of a woman’s health refer solely to her physical condition. Neither emotional nor psychological conditions qualify for the exception. Claims or diagnoses indicating the pregnant woman will commit suicide or engage in self-harm, for example, would not qualify.
Women who receive chemical abortions would not be subject to criminal prosecution under the new law. Physicians or others who are found to have violated the new law will be guilty of a misdemeanor. Violations are punishable by imprisonment for up to six months, a fine of up to $9,000, or both.
About 53% of all abortions in the United States are performed via medication, according to Guttmacher Institute‘s preliminary data. Medication abortions began accounting for the majority of abortions in the United States in 2020. Prior to 2020, surgical forms of abortion constituted the majority, the pro-choice research and advocacy organization reported.
Medication abortions typically comprise a two-drug combination. Together, mifepristone and misoprostol are known as the “abortion pill.”
Walgreens, the second-largest pharmacy chain in the United States, faced threats of boycotts over its confirmation it would not dispense abortion pills, even in some states where abortion is legal, as TheBlaze reported earlier this month.
Wyoming’s new law comes on the heels of its trigger ban on nearly all abortions being blocked in court last year, National Review reported.
A preliminary ruling by a Texas judge expected soon could order U.S. Food and Drug Administration to withdraw approval of mifepristone, the New York Times reported Friday.
In addition to the abortion pill ban, Wyoming’s Gov. Mark Gordon also allowed a separate measure to become law without his signature. That law, the “Life is a Human Right Act,” which becomes effective Sunday, bans abortions under “almost all circumstances.”
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