A legal challenge to Wyoming’s latest abortion restrictions is set for a court hearing next week, with a new judge assigned to the case—the third since the lawsuit was filed on Feb. 28.
The case, which seeks to temporarily halt new abortion regulations, has now been assigned to retired Judge Thomas T.C. Campbell, who previously served in Laramie County. Campbell takes over after the case was twice assigned to Natrona County District Judge Dan Forgey and once to Teton County District Judge Melissa Owens.
Court documents indicate the reassignment was made because “good cause exists to assign (the case) to another judge,” though no further explanation was provided. The request for Campbell’s involvement came from Wyoming Supreme Court Chief Justice Kate Fox.
The lawsuit, filed in Natrona County District Court, challenges two recently passed abortion laws:
One law increases regulations on clinics, requiring them to be licensed as ambulatory surgical centers.
The second mandates ultrasounds and a 48-hour waiting period before an abortion can be performed.
Plaintiffs argue that these laws effectively shut down the state’s only abortion clinic, Wellspring Health Access in Casper, forcing it to stop offering services. In the first five business days after the laws took effect, the clinic reported referring 56 patients to other facilities for abortion-related care.
After Forgey did not respond to the plaintiffs’ emergency request in a timely manner, they re-filed the case in Teton County, where some Wellspring patients also seek services. The case was assigned to Judge Owens, who had previously ruled against Wyoming’s 2023 abortion bans, deeming them unconstitutional. That case is currently under Wyoming Supreme Court review.
Attorneys for the state opposed the move to Teton County, arguing it was an attempt at “forum shopping”—choosing a court perceived as more favorable. Owens ruled that the case belonged in Natrona County, where the affected clinic operates, leading to the plaintiffs refiling the case there on March 24.
The next day, Chief Justice Fox reassigned the case to Judge Campbell, though no reason was given for why an outside judge was needed.
A hearing on whether to pause enforcement of the new abortion laws is scheduled for April 8 at the state courthouse in downtown Casper. Attorneys for the abortion providers argue that these laws, like the ones overturned in 2023, violate Wyomingites’ constitutional right to make their own health care decisions.
Gillette News Record and Wyoming Tribune Eagle contributed to this report.
