Wyoming abortion rights defenders ask judge to block state’s new ban on most abortions

The same group of abortion rights advocates who successfully defeated Wyoming’s previous abortion bans has opened a new legal battle, this time against a law signed Monday that bans the practice as soon as there’s a “detectable fetal heartbeat,” which can be as early as six weeks.

The challenge, filed late Tuesday afternoon, was added to an existing lawsuit in Natrona County against two anti-abortion laws passed last year. The motion argues the Human Heartbeat Act “transgresses the constitutional guarantee” of individuals’ ability “to make health care decisions without interference from the government.”

Gov. Mark Gordon signed the bill Monday while predicting it would end up in court. “Regrettably, this Act represents another well-intentioned but likely fragile legal effort with significant risk of ending in the courts rather than in lasting, durable policy,” he wrote.

Julie Burkhart, president of Wellspring Health Access—Wyoming’s lone abortion clinic and a plaintiff in the existing lawsuit—said shortly after the signing that she planned to challenge the law. Wellspring has served more than 899 abortion patients, according to the new filing.

The law requires health care providers to check for a fetal heartbeat before terminating a pregnancy, except in medical emergencies. Violations would be a felony punishable by up to five years in prison, a $10,000 fine and loss of professional license.

Physicians note that “fetal heartbeat” is a misnomer at six weeks, as embryos haven’t fully developed cardiac valves at that stage. The legal filing argues the law provides no “workable definition” of “detectable fetal heartbeat” or “medical emergency,” leaving doctors uncertain and patients at risk.

The law will also impact Chelsea’s Fund, a plaintiff that helps pay for abortion services, by increasing costs and potentially exposing the organization to criminal liability.

The new abortion restriction follows January’s Wyoming Supreme Court decision striking down two 2023 abortion bans as unconstitutional. Central to those challenges is a 2012 constitutional amendment protecting health care decision-making rights.

If approved, the challenge will join litigation against two other anti-abortion laws currently on hold—one requiring transvaginal ultrasounds with a 48-hour wait, and another requiring abortion facilities to be licensed as ambulatory surgical centers, which advocates say could force the state’s only clinic to close.