Wyoming’s lone full-service abortion clinic called on a judge to block the state’s latest abortion laws, claiming they violate a constitutional right to make one’s own health care choices and seek to use onerous regulations to block access to in-clinic abortions.
The lawsuit was filed after midnight Friday, hours after Gov. Mark Gordon signed legislation placing new restrictions on clinics that perform abortions.
Casper’s Wellspring Health Access is the one facility in Wyoming that provides in-clinic abortions. The clinic has joined other plaintiffs in previous lawsuits against attempts by Wyoming lawmakers to ban abortions. One of those lawsuits now sits in front of the Wyoming Supreme Court.
But lawmakers have continued heaping new restrictions onto abortion providers in the state and this year pushed a bill targeting Wellspring. House Bill 42, “Regulation of surgical abortions,” would require Wellspring to be licensed as an ambulatory surgical center — health care facilities that perform surgeries but are not hospitals. The classification comes with Department of Health inspections, rules and regulations, such as building codes.
According to the lawsuit, the bill piled seven onerous requirements on Wellspring in an attempt to force its closure. The measure was written to be effective as law immediately following Gordon’s signature.
The lawsuit also cites House Bill 64, “Chemical abortions-ultrasound requirement”, which requires a woman to get an intrusive ultrasound within 48 hours of an abortion.
Legislative intentions
Though conservative lawmakers pitched the bills as an effort to keep patients safe, Wyoming Speaker of the House Chip Nieman has said that he hopes the ultrasound bill, at least, gets women to rethink their abortions, not just regulate them. “I absolutely believe life is precious,” he said during debate on that bill. “That we should do everything that we possibly can to protect it. ”
Nieman sponsored the ultrasound bill.
On Friday, however, Nieman told WyoFile neither bill is designed to ban abortions. “There’s no limit on the abortion. It’s simply the mechanics of it, and making sure we do our due diligence to provide safety and clarity on the procedures,” Nieman said. It would be great to stop abortions, he said, “but I just can’t.”
This article was originally published by WyoFile and is republished here with permission. WyoFile is an independent nonprofit news organization focused on Wyoming people, places and policy.
