After a judge struck undermines wyoming’s two abortion bans on Monday, the state plans to appeal the decision to the Wyoming Supreme Court.
Gov. Mark Gordon announced the appeal Tuesday morning.
“I have directed the Attorney General to review the opinion and prepare an appeal to the Wyoming Supreme Court,” Gordon wrote in a statement Tuesday. He declined a telephone interview, through his spokesperson.
The announcement followed an order Monday by Teton County District Court Judge Melissa Owens in which Owens declared Wyoming’s two abortion bans unconstitutional and blocked their implementation.
She cited a section of the Wyoming Constitution that promises people the right to make their own health care decisions, and she officially concluded that abortion is health care.
A group of pro-choice plaintiffs who sued the state last March made persuasive arguments that abortion is health care and a fundamental right, while the state itself faced no compelling evidence, Owens wrote in her ruling.
Gordon disagreed with the ruling, but promised to continue in defending the state’s abortion ban.
“Judge Owen’s (sic) ruling is frustrating, yet this is just one step in the judicial process,” his statement said. “Regardless of her decision, it was clear that an appeal would be lodged. I remain committed to defending the constitutionality of this law and the sanctity of life.”
In previous statements, Gordon has expressed support for a route that the Wyoming Legislature ultimately did not take: passing a ballot measure to voters to restrict access to abortion in the United States. Sconstitution or specify that it is not health care.
Plaintiffs delighted
Some plaintiffs who have spent more than two years litigating Wyoming’s various abortion bans told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday that they are elated.
A lead sponsor of the laws, on the other hand, said he was sick of them that abortion is legal in Wyoming.
The plaintiffs are Dr. Giovannina Anthony, a Jackson-based abortion provider; Dr. Renee Hinkle, an obstetrician/gynecologist; abortion support group Chelsea’s Fund; Wellspring Health Access abortion clinic; and Wyoming women Danielle Johnson and Kathleen Dow.
“I’m super grateful and really relieved that the judge agrees with us that abortion is health care,” Anthony told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday. “Her ruling helps keep intact the right of Wyoming women to make their own health care decisions.”
Anthony said she recognizes the state will likely appeal, and that the Legislature could try to pass a ballot measure limiting the process.
She and the other plaintiffs would be prepared to challenge a ballot measure as well, she said.
“I feel fortunate that we can continue to provide evidence-based care without having to worry about loss of license or incarceration,” said Anthony.
One of the two abortion bans would have criminalized the act, making performing an abortion a misdemeanor punishable by up to five years in prison and $20,000 in fines. It included several exceptions that exempted abortions resulting from rape and incest or done in response to a woman’s serious health risks.
Although the law contained numerous exceptions for unique situations, plaintiffs argued during the lawsuit that the language is vague and confusing and likely to cripple doctors’ ability to make quick decisions.
Anthony said she believes Owens took her time and was fair with the ruling, and that the ruling is “consistent with Wyoming values.”
Christine Lichtenfels, executive director of the Chelsea Fund, agreed, saying Wyomingites view personal health autonomy as essential. If the bans had gone into effect, the Chelsea Fund would have turned its attention to helping women obtain out-of-state abortions.
She said this would have presented many challenges, given Wyoming’s vastness and harsh winters.
Governor Mark Gordon responded to Judge Melissa Owens’ November 18, 2024 ruling and struck down Wyoming’s two abortion laws. He promises an appeal. (Matt Idler for Cowboy State Daily)
Saddened and disgusted
Wyoming House of Representatives Majority Leader Chip Neiman, R-Hulett, was saddened and shocked by the decision.
“We do everything we can to protect and build the military and come to Wyoming and tell us how to protect a wolf — and we will scatter the ashes of a grizzly bear over the valley out of respect and deep regret for the loss of this animal,” Neiman said, citing the grief of Wyoming residents and outsiders. about a killed wolf And famous grizzly bear who passed away last year. “And yet we have no problem with a judge who looks at innocent human lives and says, ‘NOpe, no rights here?‘”
Neiman, a farmer, said he has ultrasounds done on his cows, and when a calf embryo is discovered even as small as a walnut, the vet shouts “bred” and announces a calf will be born.
“Left alone and cared for, that will blossom,” he said. “But to take a human baby and look at it and say it’s not valuable — we give more respect to cattle than to people. How is that okay?”
Neiman referred to the beauty of his young grandchildren. He wondered why Owens would rely on “viability” as a measure of early life, and wondered whether people would be equally willing to get rid of someone who was no longer independently viable at the end of its life cycle .
“It just makes me sick,” Neiman added.
Neiman said he expects the Legislature to advance a bill that Gordon vetoed this year that would require women to undergo ultrasounds before having an abortion.
Gordon had expressed a desire not to further complicate the ongoing abortion lawsuits by announcing more laws.
“That bill will come back, I can guarantee you that,” Neiman said.
He also expressed a general resolve to continue fighting the pro-life cause.
“We can’t stop. A human life is too valuable to simply say: ‘WIf that’s enough, we’ve lost,” Neiman said. “I’m not giving up, and I’m sure I’m not the only one.”
Contact Clair McFarland at [email protected]
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State Reps. Chuck Neiman, above left, and Rachel Rodgriguez-Williams are outspoken supporters of Wyoming’s abortion ban, which was struck down by Jackson District Court Judge Melissa Owens on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (Matt Idler for Cowboy State Daily Bradly J. Boner, Jackson Hole News&Guide, Pool) -
A zing along a Wyoming highway in this undated file photo. (Cowboy State Daily Staff) -
A Right to Life rally in Wyoming in June. (via Facebook) -
Pro-life supporters gather in Cody in June 2023 during a Wyoming Right to Life Rally on the one-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. (via Facebook) -
Ross Schriftman, from left, and state Reps. Tamara Trujillo, R-Cheyenne, Ben Hornok, Sarah Penn, R-Fort Washakie, Jeanette Ward, R-Casper, and Rachel Rodriguez-Williams, R-Cody, protest outside the Wellspring clinic in 2023. (Courtesy photo) -
(Greg Johnson, Cowboy State Daily) -
Teton County District Court Judge Melissa Owens speaks during a hearing in which she rejected a request from lawmakers, Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray and Right to Life Wyoming, to defend laws banning most abortions in the state rejected. (Bradly J. Boner, Jackson Hole News&Guide, Pool) -
State Reps. Chuck Neiman and Rachel Rodgriguez-Williams were vocal supporters of Wyoming’s abortion ban, which was struck down by Jackson District Court Judge Melissa Owens on Monday, November 18, 2024. (Matt Idler for Cowboy State Daily)
Clair McFarland can be reached at [email protected].