Wyoming is the first US state to ban medical abortion

Wyoming is the first US state to ban the prescription, sale and use of abortion pills. The legislation will go into effect in July.

Republican Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon sign it On March 17 A.N invoice Which makes It is an offense to prescribe, sell or use any medical product for the purpose of obtaining an abortion. Violators face up to six months in prison and a $9,000 fine. The legislation is expected to go into effect on July 1 and will not affect birth control pills or treatment to protect women whose health is at risk.

the Thus Wyoming became the first state in the United States to ban only medical abortionBy separating it from the general ban on abortion. This decision adds a growing impetus by many conservative countries to target the medical abortion method user in more than half of all abortions in the United States.

In fact, the state is one of many regulatory battles waged to block abortion, after the Supreme Court ruled on June 24, 2022. canceled The historic Roe v. Wade ruling of 1973 that recognized a woman’s federal right to have an abortion and made it law nationwide.

Abortion in Wyoming

Governor Gordon said he signed the law because it promotes and ensures greater protection for the fetus, but this This is not the first measure intended to prevent termination of pregnancy. The state, in fact, was last year issued With it, he imposed a ban on almost all abortions The case is still pending before the judge, who prevented it from being carried out.

The governor also said that he allowed the issuance of a invoice It came into effect March 19 banning traditional abortion procedures except when necessary to protect the health and life of the mother, or in cases of rape or incest. An exception is also allowed for termination of pregnancy if doctors determine that there is a fatal abnormality in the fetus.

Since it was highly likely that these new laws would be legally challenged by reproductive rights groups, the governor of Wyoming called a public referendum on the matter.

Consequences of ban

currently Wyoming has only one clinic that performs abortionsJackson Women’s and Family Health Clinic. Dr. Giovannina Anthony, an obstetrician-gynecologist, works at the clinic announce to The New York Times that “the impact of this legislation not only violates our constitutional rights, it causes actual harm,” especially for women who no longer have access to the practice.

“People’s health should drive important medical decisions, including abortion decisions, not politics,” he said. advertiser Antonio Serrano, director of advocacy for the American Civil Liberties Union of Wyoming, an association that fights for civil rights, strongly criticized Governor Gordon’s decision.

In Texas, a judge is keeping the fate of mifepristone in suspense

Wyoming’s new law comes as the nation’s right to crack down on medical abortions. For example, a A federal judge in Texas It is considering a nationwide ban on mifepristone, the first of two major abortion drugs used alongside misoprostol, in response to a lawsuit by anti-abortion groups. The judge said he will issue a ruling as soon as possible and will likely decide to cut off access to the drug, even in states where abortion is permitted.

According to NARAL Pro-Choice America, a reproductive freedom organization, if this lawsuit is successful, 64.5 million women of childbearing age across the United States They will lose Access to medications and thus to medical abortion, with a steady increase in damage from day to day. This provision will be in addition 24.5 million women of childbearing age live in states that already have complete abortion bansIncreased limitation of this practice and the rights of uterine sufferers.

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