Abortion in Wyoming

Last updated

Abortion in Wyoming is currently legal due to a temporary court injunction. [1]

Contents

After the U.S. Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022, in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization , abortion ceased to be a federally protected right.

On March 15, 2022, Wyoming's legislature passed HB92, a trigger law that would ban abortion beginning five days after the overturn of Roe v. Wade. [2] Under HB92, abortion is illegal except for cases of rape, incest (reported to law enforcement) and serious risk of death or "substantial and irreversible physical impairments" for the pregnant woman. [3]

On March 17, 2023, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon signed a law banning abortion pills, becoming the first state in the country to do so. [4]

Abortion was a criminal offence in Wyoming in 1950. Less-restrictive abortion legislation was introduced in 1997 but not passed. In 2013, a fetal heartbeat bill was introduced in the Wyoming House of Representatives but never made it out of committee. In January 2017, a mandatory ultrasound law went into effect, however, it lacked an enforcement mechanism.

The number of abortion clinics in the state has been on the decline since the late 20th century, going from eight in 1982 to five in 1992 to one in 2014, and remaining at that total in 2016, 2017 and 2019.  At the same time, a few medical facilities in the state have quietly offered abortion services to women. In 2017, 140 abortions took place in the state, representing nearly 0.0% of all such procedures in the US that year. [5] Some Wyomingites participated in Stop the Bans rallies in May 2019 to advocate for women's right to abortion. [6]

The 2023 American Values Atlas reported that, in their most recent survey, 52% of people from Wyoming said that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. [7]

History

In 2017, there were medical facilities that would perform abortions, but they did not make this information public, and women could only find out about these services if they were existing patients. [8]

Legislative history

In 1950, the state legislature passed a law stating that a woman who had an abortion or actively sought to have an abortion regardless of whether she went through with it was guilty of a criminal offense. [9] It is not clear how often the law was enforced. A bill protecting women's access to abortion was introduced in 1997 but did not succeed in getting a floor vote. [10]

A fetal heartbeat bill, HB 97, was introduced in the Wyoming House of Representatives in January 2013 by Kendell Kroeker; however, in February 2013 the bill was struck down by a house committee in a 4–5 vote. [11] [12] The state legislature was one of five states nationwide that tried to pass such a bill that year. [13] On July 1, 2017, a law passed by the state legislature went into effect the prohibited the sale of fetal tissue.  Another law that went into effect that day required abortion service providers to give women seeking abortions an ultrasound, but it had no enforcement component. [8] As of May 14, 2019, the state prohibited abortions after the fetus was viable, generally some point between week 24 and 28. This period uses a standard defined by the US Supreme Court in 1973 with the Roe v. Wade ruling. [14]

Judicial history

The US Supreme Court's decision in 1973's Roe v. Wade ruling meant the state could not regulate abortion in the first trimester. [9] However, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization , No. 19-1392 , 597 U.S. ___(2022) later in 2022. [15] [16] However, a judge in Wyoming found that abortion bans violate the state constitution's clause providing for the right of Wyomingites to make their own health care decisions [17]

Clinic history

Number of abortion clinics in Wyoming by year Number of abortion clinics in Wyoming by year.png
Number of abortion clinics in Wyoming by year

Between 1982 and 1992, the total number of abortion clinics in the state declined by three, going from eight to five. [10] In 1990, family practice Emerg-A-Care opened in Jackson as urgent care so that tourists in the area would feel comfortable visiting if they needed medical treatment. Among the services they offered were abortion services. [8]

In 2014, there officially was one abortion clinic in the state; [18] 96% of counties in the state did not have an abortion clinic, and 96% of women in the state aged 15–44 lived in a county without an abortion clinic. [19] In March 2016, there was only one Planned Parenthood clinic in the state. [20] After Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains switched from directly billing women to directly billing Medicaid in 2016, they ran into funding bills as Medicaid has low reimbursement rates. Consequently, they were forced to close three clinics in Colorado and Wyoming in July 2017. The closure of the Wyoming clinic meant the state had no more Planned Parenthood clinics, making Wyoming one of two states without a Planned Parenthood clinic. [21] North Dakota, Wyoming, Mississippi, Louisiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia were the only six states as of July 21, 2017, not to have a Planned Parenthood clinic that offered abortion services. [21] In 2017, there was still only one abortion clinic in Wyoming, but there were claims of two other providers in Jackson Hole that privately would perform abortions for existing patients. These health centers provided around one to five abortions a year. [8] Emerg-A-Care also served women from eastern Idaho. Less than 0.5% of their practice involved providing abortion services. Of the abortions performed in 2017, 80% were medical. [8] In 2020, Emerg-A-Care was sold to a local hospital. [22]

Historical statistics

In the period between 1972 and 1974, there were zero reported illegal abortion deaths in the state. [23] In 1990, 50,000 women were at risk of unintended pregnancies. [10] In 2014, 48% of adults said in a poll by the Pew Research Center that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. [24] In 2017, the state had an infant mortality rate of 4.6 deaths per 1,000 live births. High infant mortality and lack of access to reproductive health care are closely correlated in Wyoming, as in many other states. [25]

Number of reported abortions, abortion rate and percentage change in rate by geographic region and state in 1992, 1995 and 1996 [26]
Census division and stateNumberRate % change 1992–1996
199219951996199219951996
US total1,528,9301,363,6901,365,73025.922.922.9–12
Mountain69,60063,39067,0202117.918.6–12
Arizona20,60018,12019,31024.119.119.8–18
Colorado19,88015,69018,31023.61820.9–12
Idaho1,7101,5001,6007.25.86.1–15
Montana3,3003,0102,90018.216.215.6–14
Nevada13,30015,60015,45044.246.744.61
New Mexico6,4105,4505,47017.714.414.4–19
Utah3,9403,7403,7009.38.17.8–16
Wyoming4602802804.32.72.7–37
Number, rate, and ratio of reported abortions, by reporting area of residence and occurrence and by percentage of abortions obtained by out-of-state residents, US CDC estimates
LocationResidenceOccurrence % obtained by

out-of-state residents

YearRef
No.Rate^Ratio^^No.Rate^^Ratio^^
Wyoming6425.883————2014 [27]
Wyoming4934.567————2016 [28]
^number of abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44; ^^number of abortions per 1,000 live births

Financing

In 1998, women could only receive public funds for an abortion if continuing the pregnancy put their life at risk, if the pregnancy was a result of rape that was reported within five days of it occurring, or was a result of incest. [10] In 2010, the state had zero publicly funded abortions. [29]

Abortion rights views and activities

Dissent against restrictive laws

Women from the state participated in rallies supporting access to abortion as part of the Stop the Bans (#StoptheBans) effort in May 2019. Wyoming Equality was one of the organizers for the Cheyenne #StoptheBans protest that drew women from across the state. [30]

Following the overturn of Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022, dozens of abortion rights protestors rallied and marched outside Wyoming's only clinic offering abortion services in Casper. [31]

Anti-abortion views and activities

Violence

In 1994, a domestic terrorist responsible for attacks in multiple states bombed the Emerg-A-Care health center in Jackson during the night, causing large amounts of smoke damage that resulted in the clinic being closed for several weeks. [8]

On May 25, 2022, a masked woman set a fire at a planned abortion clinic in Casper, Wyoming. The ATF offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to her arrest. [32]

Related Research Articles

Abortion in Alabama is illegal. Historically, Alabama's abortion laws have evolved from strict regulations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to a period of liberalization following the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion nationwide. However, Alabama has consistently enacted legislation aimed at restricting access to abortion.

Abortion in Louisiana is illegal as of August 1, 2022.

As of 2024, the legal status of abortion in Missouri is unclear. From 2022 to 2024, abortions were only legal in cases of medical emergency, with several additional laws designed to make accessing abortion services difficult. In 2014, a poll by the Pew Research Center found that 45% of Missouri adults said that abortion should be legal vs. 50% that believe it should be illegal in all or most cases and 5% that do not know. The 2023 American Values Atlas reported that, in their most recent survey, 55% of Missourians said that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. According to a 2014 Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) study, 51% of white women in the state believed that abortion is legal in all or most cases.

Abortion in Arkansas is illegal except when it is necessary to save the life of the pregnant individual. Doctors determined to have performed an abortion face up to 10 years in prison and fines up to $100,000.

Abortion in Connecticut is legal up to the point of fetal viability, or after that if necessary to preserve the life or health of the pregnant individual. A poll by the Pew Research Center found that 67 percent of adults in the state believed that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. The 2023 American Values Atlas reported that, in their most recent survey, 72% of people from Connecticut said that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.

Abortion in Delaware is legal up to the point of fetal viability. As of June 2024, Civiqs polling found that 72% of Delawareans believed that abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 23% believed it should be illegal in all or most cases. There was a therapeutic exceptions in the state's legislative ban on abortions by 1900. Informed consent laws were on the books by 2007. In 2017, Senator Bryan Townsend, D-Newark introduced legislation to try to make clear that abortion would remain legal in the state in case 1973's Roe v. Wade ruling was overturned. The legislation was subsequently updated. Attempts have been made to introduce mandatory ultrasound laws, but they failed to get out of committee. State legislators tried to move ahead the week at which a woman could get a legal abortion in 2019.

Abortion in Hawaii is legal. 66% of adults in Hawaii said in a 2014 poll by the Pew Research Center that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. The 2023 American Values Atlas reported that, in their most recent survey, 79% of people from Hawaii said that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. Hawaii began allowing abortion care de jure in 1970, the first state to do so. State law enacted at that time stated said, "the State shall not deny or interfere with a female's right to choose or obtain an abortion of a nonviable fetus or an abortion that is necessary to protect the life or health of the female."

Abortion in Idaho is illegal from fertilization. Following the overturning of Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022, abortion in Idaho was criminalized by the trigger law which states that a person who performs an abortion may face two to five years of imprisonment. The ban allows exceptions for maternal health, rape and incest within the first trimester. The law took effect on August 25, 2022.

Abortion is illegal in Kentucky. There were laws in Kentucky about abortion by 1900, including ones with therapeutic exceptions. In 1998, the state passed legislation that required clinics to have an abortion clinic license if they wanted to operate. By the early 2010s, members of the Kentucky Legislature attempted to ban abortion in almost all cases and had also introduced the early abortion bans. Prior to 2019, Kentucky law prohibited abortions after week 22. This changed when the state legislature passed a law that moved the prohibition to week 6 in the early part of the year. A bill passed and made effective in April 2022 lowered the threshold to 15 weeks, the second most restrictive limit in effect in the United States behind Texas, and introduced regulations that made abortion illegal until it was blocked in federal court.

Abortion in Massachusetts is legal, although terminations after the 24th week can only be performed if a physician determines it to be medically necessary. Modern Massachusetts is considered to be one of the most pro-abortion rights states in the country; a 2014 Pew Research poll found that 74% of residents supported the right to an abortion in all or most cases, a higher percentage than any other state in 2014. Marches supporting abortion rights took place as part of the #StoptheBans movement in May 2019. The 2023 American Values Atlas reported that, in their most recent survey, 78% of people from Massachusetts said that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.

Abortion in Mississippi is illegal. The new law took effect on July 7, 2022, after Mississippi State Attorney General Lynn Fitch certified on June 27, the Supreme Court decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization on June 24 of that year. State Attorney General Lynn Fitch's certification made Mississippi's 2007 'trigger law' go into effect and ban all abortions in the state, “except in the case where necessary for the preservation of the mother's life or where the pregnancy was caused by rape".

Abortion in New Jersey is legal at all stages of pregnancy. Abortion related laws were drafted by the legislature by the end of the 1900s. These laws would be addressed in court during the 1800s as they related to application in prosecutions of people who could become pregnant for having abortions. During the 1940s, hospitals created committees to approve abortion requests, with the goal of trying to reduce the number of abortions performed at them. Currently, there are no required waiting times, and parental consent is not required.

Abortion in Oregon is legal at all stages of pregnancy. The Center for Reproductive Rights classifies Oregon as highly protective of abortion rights.

Abortion in Tennessee is illegal from fertilization and provides no exceptions for rape, incest or the health of the pregnant individual. Tennessee's abortion legislation provides no explicit exceptions for the pregnant patient’s health. It makes an exception for an “affirmative defense” for emergencies, but the vagueness of what constitutes an emergency means that physicians hesitate to provide abortions even when the pregnant individual's life is in jeopardy. Attempts to codify the exceptions into law have been rejected by Republican politicians in Tennesse. Tennessee is among the four states which forbid abortion access through their state constitution; alongside Alabama, Louisiana, and West Virginia.

Abortion in Utah is legally performed under a temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of the state's trigger law, which bans abortion. According to HB136, which is effective state law from June 28, 2022, abortions are banned following 18 weeks of gestation. Abortion was banned following the Supreme Court case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization on June 24, 2022. Utah State Legislation enacted SB 174 in May 2020, which, upon the overturn of Roe v. Wade, made inducing an abortion a second-degree felony. The law includes exceptions for pregnancies "caused by rape or incest," pregnancies that put the mother's life at risk, or "if two doctors say the fetus has a lethal defect." Rape and incest exceptions will only be viable if the crimes were previously reported to law enforcement officials.

Abortion in Vermont is legal at all stages of pregnancy. A 2014 Pew Research Center poll showed 70% of adults in the state believed abortion should be legal in most or all cases, the second highest percentage in the country. The 2023 American Values Atlas reported that, in their most recent survey, 76% of Vermonters said that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. The state funds abortions deemed medically necessary for low-income women via Medicaid.

Abortion in the U.S. state of Virginia is legal up to the end of the second trimester of a pregnancy. Before the year 1900, abortion remained largely illegal in Virginia, reflecting a widespread trend in many U.S. states during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Abortion was viewed as a criminal act and subject to state laws that prohibited it. However, by 1950, Virginia introduced a legal therapeutic exception, allowing for abortion under specific circumstances, primarily when a woman's physical or mental health was at risk. Notably, the University of Virginia Hospital established a review board in 1950 responsible for evaluating and approving abortion requests, particularly those grounded in psychiatric reasons. This thorough approval process resulted in a significant decrease in the number of abortions performed at the hospital.

Abortion in West Virginia is illegal except in cases of rape or incest, fatal fetal abnormalities, and when the mother’s life is at risk from a pregnancy.

Abortion in Wisconsin has been legal since September 18, 2023, and is performed in Madison, Milwaukee and Sheboygan through 22 weeks gestation. However, elective abortions in Wisconsin are under dispute after the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court of the United States on June 24, 2022. Abortion opponents cite an 1849 law that they claim bans the procedure in all cases except when the life of the mother is in danger. However, lower level courts have argued that the law only applies to infanticide and not consensual abortions. The enforceability of the law is disputed and being considered by the state courts. Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin announced that they would resume abortion services in Madison and Milwaukee on September 18, 2023. Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin later announced that they would resume abortion services in Sheboygan on December 28, 2023.

Abortion in New Mexico is legal at all stages of pregnancy. The number of abortion clinics in New Mexico has declined over the years, with 26 in 1982, 20 in 1992 and 11 in 2014. There were 4,500 legal abortions in 2014. There were 7 facilities providing abortion in New Mexico in 2017, and 6 of those were clinics. In 2017, 91% of New Mexico counties had no clinics that provided abortions, and 48% of New Mexico women lived in those counties.

References

  1. ↑ Gruver, Mead (March 22, 2023). "Judge halts Wyoming abortion ban days after it took effect". AP News. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  2. ↑ "HB0092 - Abortion prohibition-supreme court decision". www.wyoleg.gov. March 15, 2022. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
  3. ↑ "Supreme Court ruling to trigger Wyoming abortion ban | County 17". 25 June 2022.
  4. ↑ "Abortion pills now banned in Wyoming after governor signs bill into law". ABC News. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
  5. ↑ "State Facts about Abortion: Wyoming". data.guttmacher.org. 26 January 2016. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
  6. ↑ ""Stop The Bans" Gatherings Held Across The Region". Wyoming Public Media. 2019-05-22. Retrieved 2022-06-08.
  7. ↑ "Abortion Views in All 50 States: Findings from PRRI's 2023 American Values Atlas | PRRI". PRRI | At the intersection of religion, values, and public life. 2024-05-02. Retrieved 2024-10-30.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 McCann, Allison (May 23, 2017). "Seven states have only one remaining abortion clinic. We talked to the people keeping them open". Vice News. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
  9. 1 2 Buell, Samuel (1991-01-01). "Criminal Abortion Revisited". New York University Law Review. 66 (6): 1774–1831. PMID   11652642.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Arndorfer, Elizabeth; Michael, Jodi; Moskowitz, Laura; Grant, Juli A.; Siebel, Liza (December 1998). A State-By-State Review of Abortion and Reproductive Rights. Diane Publishing. ISBN   9780788174810.
  11. ↑ Hancock, Laura (January 29, 2013). "Wyoming House Panel votes down abortion bill". Casper Star-Tribune. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  12. ↑ "WY HB0097 - 2013 - Regular Session". LegiScan.
  13. ↑ Lai, K. K. Rebecca (2019-05-15). "Abortion Bans: 8 States Have Passed Bills to Limit the Procedure This Year". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  14. ↑ Lai, K. K. Rebecca (2019-05-15). "Abortion Bans: 8 States Have Passed Bills to Limit the Procedure This Year". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  15. ↑ de Vogue, Ariane (June 24, 2022). "Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade". CNN . Archived from the original on June 24, 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
  16. ↑ How4e, Amy (June 24, 2022). "Supreme Court overturns constitutional right to abortion". SCOTUSblog . Archived from the original on June 24, 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  17. ↑ Gruver, Mead (March 22, 2023). "Judge halts Wyoming abortion ban days after it took effect - ABC News (go.com)". ABC News.
  18. ↑ Gould, Rebecca Harrington, Skye. "The number of abortion clinics in the US has plunged in the last decade — here's how many are in each state". Business Insider. Retrieved 2019-05-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  19. ↑ Panetta, Grace; lee, Samantha (2018-08-04). "This is what could happen if Roe v. Wade fell". Business Insider (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2019-05-24. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  20. ↑ Bohatch, Emily. "27 states with the most Planned Parenthood clinics". thestate. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  21. 1 2 "Here's Where Women Have Less Access to Planned Parenthood" . Retrieved 2019-05-23.
  22. ↑ "Blue: Emerg-A-Care sale isn't retirement" . Retrieved 2021-12-01.
  23. ↑ Cates, Willard; Rochat, Roger (March 1976). "Illegal Abortions in the United States: 1972–1974". Family Planning Perspectives. 8 (2): 86–92. doi:10.2307/2133995. JSTOR   2133995. PMID   1269687.
  24. ↑ "Views about abortion by state - Religion in America: U.S. Religious Data, Demographics and Statistics | Pew Research Center" . Retrieved 2019-05-23.
  25. ↑ "States pushing abortion bans have highest infant mortality rates". NBC News. 24 May 2019. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
  26. ↑ Henshaw, Stanley K. (2005-06-15). "Abortion Incidence and Services in the United States, 1995-1996". Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health. 30: 263–270. Retrieved 2019-06-02.
  27. ↑ Jatlaoui, Tara C. (2017). "Abortion Surveillance — United States, 2014". MMWR. Surveillance Summaries. 66 (24): 1–48. doi:10.15585/mmwr.ss6624a1. ISSN   1546-0738. PMC   6289084 . PMID   29166366.
  28. ↑ Jatlaoui, Tara C. (2019). "Abortion Surveillance — United States, 2016". MMWR. Surveillance Summaries. 68 (11): 1–41. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.ss6811a1 . ISSN   1546-0738. PMC   6289084 . PMID   31774741.
  29. ↑ "Guttmacher Data Center". data.guttmacher.org. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  30. ↑ Foulk, Grace (21 May 2019). "Wyoming Equality hosts #stopthebans Cheyenne event". www.wyomingnewsnow.tv. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
  31. ↑ Harris, Maya Shimizu (July 30, 2022). "Groups protest outside clinic after ban blocked". Laramie Boomerang. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
  32. ↑ "Masked, hooded woman seen on video setting fire at what would be Wyoming's only abortion clinic". CBS News. June 9, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
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