Newly signed Wyoming law outlaws use of abortion pill

Robert Besser
21 Mar 2023, 22:15 GMT+10

A Wyoming bill outlawing the use or prescription of medication abortion pills, which was passed by the state's Republican-controlled legislature earlier this month, was signed into law by Governor Mark Gordon this week.
The Wyoming bill signed by Gordon makes it illegal to "prescribe, dispense, distribute, sell or use any drug for the purpose of procuring or performing an abortion."
After a lawsuit was filed by anti-abortion groups, a federal judge in Texas is also considering a national ban on the abortion pill, mifepristone.

CHEYENNE, Wyoming: A Wyoming bill outlawing the use or prescription of medication abortion pills, which was passed by the state's Republican-controlled legislature earlier this month, was signed into law by Governor Mark Gordon this week.

After a lawsuit was filed by anti-abortion groups, a federal judge in Texas is also considering a national ban on the abortion pill, mifepristone.

The Wyoming bill signed by Gordon makes it illegal to "prescribe, dispense, distribute, sell or use any drug for the purpose of procuring or performing an abortion."

However, contraception or "morning-after" pills used after sex, but before pregnancy, are exempted from the ban, along with any treatment necessary to protect a woman "from an imminent peril that substantially endangers her life or health," as well as any treatment of a "natural miscarriage, according to currently accepted medical guidelines."

Violations will be considered crimes and be punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $9,000, but a woman "upon whom a chemical abortion is performed or attempted shall not be criminally prosecuted."

A separate bill could be passed by state lawmakers to ban conventional abortion procedures, except in cases of rape or incest or to protect the health and life of the mother, Gordon said.

Ending a pregnancy if doctors determine there to be a lethal abnormality of the fetus is also exempted.

After a 2022 Supreme Court ruling that overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion, related legal fights have intensified in the US.

Watch latest videos

News RELEASES

Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Cambodian Times.

More Information

31 ℃

Mostly Cloudy in Phnom-Penh

International

Section

US to get tough as drone disrupts Pittsburgh airport

WASHINGTON D.C.: The Federal Aviation Administration has said that a drone sighting disrupted some flights at Pittsburgh International Airport this ...

New Oregon gun law being challenged in court case

PORTLAND, Oregon: A federal trial has begun in Portland, Oregon examining the constitutionality of a stringent gun control law approved ...

After removing Columbus statue, Philadelphia sued for return

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania: Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney and members of the city's historical commission have been sued by a group which ...

Area evacuated as wildfire burns thru Michigan

LANSING, Michigan: Michigan's Department of Natural Resources said by a wildfire in the state has burned through more than 3 ...

Official: airlines industry acting to prevent cancellations

ISTANBUL, Turkey: In an interview with Reuters, Willie Walsh, director-general of the International Air Transport Association, (IATA), said airlines are ...

Protesting Texans send migrants to California

SACRAMENTO, California: Sixteen migrants from Venezuela and Colombia, who had entered the United States through Texas, were transported to California ...