The Supreme Court of Wyoming ruled Jan. 6 that two state laws restricting abortion were unconstitutional, striking down a ban on abortion procedures and a separate prohibition on abortion medication. In its decision in State v. Johnson, the court found that the Life is a Human Right Act of 2023 and the state’s abortion drug ban violated Article 1, Section 38 of the Constitution of Wyoming.
That provision, approved by voters through a 2012 statewide referendum, guarantees that “each competent adult shall have the right to make his or her own health care decisions.”
“All five Wyoming Supreme Court justices agreed that the decision whether to terminate or continue a pregnancy is a woman’s own health care decision protected by Article 1, Section 38,” wrote the court in a summary of its opinion and announcement of the decision.
The court added that “all five justices also concluded that an adult’s right to make his or her own health care decisions is a fundamental right because of the very specific language used,” despite the issue being decided following the passage of “Obamacare.”
The court split four to one on whether the laws could be struck down. “Four justices (Boomgaarden, Fox, Jarosh, and Fenn) voted to strike down the 2023 abortion laws. Justice Gray voted to uphold the laws,” the court’s summary read.
The court observed that although Article 1, Section 38 was enacted in response to Obamacare, the wording of the provision remained rigid, writing, “The Court recognized it cannot add words to the Wyoming Constitution. … But lawmakers could ask Wyoming voters to consider a constitutional amendment that would more clearly address this issue.”
When reviewing the case, lower courts in Wyoming also struck down the laws, The Epoch Times reported.
Wyoming is a reliably conservative state dominated by the Republican Party, where opposition to abortion is widespread. Following the ruling, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon called for a constitutional referendum that would amend the state constitution and effectively overturn the court’s decision.
“This ruling may settle, for now, a legal question, but it does not settle the moral one, nor does it reflect where many Wyoming citizens stand, including myself. It is time for this issue to go before the people for a vote,” Gordon wrote in a statement published on social media. “I call on the legislature to pass and place a clear constitutional amendment on my desk.”
Wellspring Health Access in Casper, Wyoming, the lead plaintiff in the case, hailed the ruling.
“Our clinic will remain open and ready to provide compassionate reproductive health care, including abortions, and our patients in Wyoming will be able to obtain this care without having to travel out of state,” said the organization’s president, Julie Burkhart, in a statement.
The House is set to approve legislation on Thursday afternoon that will extend controversial Obamacare tax credits for three years, representing a significant triumph for Democrats and fostering optimism among centrist Republicans that it may facilitate a bipartisan agreement.
The proposal is unlikely to progress through the Senate in its current form. The identical three-year extension was defeated by Senate Republicans in December.
However, the impending vote prompted a coalition of bipartisan senators to come up with a compromise they believe will garner support from both legislative chambers.
Republican supporters in the House are optimistic that a bipartisan vote in the lower chamber on Thursday will prompt the Senate to expedite its consideration of the issue.
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), one of the four Republicans who diverged from leadership to endorse the discharge petition, stated he anticipates “a substantial number of Republicans” will support the bill to advocate for a bipartisan agreement to renew, reform, and prolong the subsidies.
“We’ve been working with the senators for weeks, and the framework that they are … trying to finalize is very much in line with what I have been saying from the start, about a two-year extension with reforms,” Lawler said. “I think that’s ultimately where we can get.”