But the governor of the Cowboy State vows to propose a constitutional amendment to ban abortion that would go before voters during the Fall.
By Catholics for Catholics
The cowboy state will remain a place where abortion is legal.
The state Supreme Court of Wyoming ruled Tuesday that two laws banning the killing of the unborn, including the country’s first unambiguous ban on abortion pills, violate the state constitution.
Though Wyoming is considered one of the most conservative states, the 4-1 ruling from justices all appointed by Republican governors did not come as a surprise. Previously the judges have upheld every previous lower court ruling that the abortion bans violated the state constitution.
Wellspring Health Access in Casper, the abortion access advocacy group Chelsea’s Fund and four women, including two obstetricians, contended that the laws violated a state constitutional amendment ensuring that competent adults have the right to make their own health care decisions, according to Newsmax.
However, attorneys for the state argued that abortion can’t violate the Wyoming constitution because it is not healthcare.
In 2012, voters approved the constitutional amendment in response to the federal Affordable Care Act. The judges recognized that the amendment wasn’t written to apply to abortion but said it’s not their job to “add words” to the state constitution.
“But lawmakers could ask Wyoming voters to consider a constitutional amendment that would more clearly address this issue,” the justices wrote in summarizing their 4-1 ruling.
Nevertheless, Gov. Mark Gordon, a Republican, said he was disappointed by the ruling and called on state lawmakers meeting this winter to pass a proposed constitutional amendment banning abortion that would go before voters this fall.
“This ruling may settle, for now, a legal question, but it does not settle the moral one, nor does it reflect where many Wyoming citizens stand, including myself. It is time for this issue to go before the people for a vote,” Gordon said.
But such an amendment would have an uphill battle, since it requires a two-thirds vote to be introduced for consideration during the monthlong legislative session, which is mostly dedicated chiefly to the state budget. However, it would have wide support in the Republican-dominated statehouse.
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