Stakeholders sue over Wyo. abortion ban; hearing is Wednesday

Jul. 27—CHEYENNE — Wyoming abortion providers, an abortion fund and residents have filed a lawsuit that seeks to temporarily prevent enforcement of the state's abortion ban. An emergency hearing on the case has been scheduled for Wednesday, which is the same day the law is to take effect.

The suit, filed Monday in Teton County District Court, argued that the ban would cause "irreparable harm" to Wyomingites, and that it violates the state's constitution. This allegedly includes Article 1, Section 38, which says "each competent adult shall have the right to make his or her own health care decisions."

A motion for a temporary restraining order was also filed, and plaintiffs requested an emergency hearing. The same day the legal complaint was filed, an emergency hearing was scheduled, according to court records provided to the Wyoming Tribune Eagle. The hearing is set for 10 a.m. Wednesday.

Melissa Owens was assigned to be the judge in the case, the court's docket sheet also shows. She was appointed by Gov. Mark Gordon in December as district court judge for the 9th Judicial District, which includes Teton County.

The abortion ban is set to go into effect Wednesday. It would outlaw abortions in most instances, with some exceptions for rape and other extreme situations. The law has stirred considerable concern among some women (and men, who have also protested the law) as well as among experts including doctors and lawyers, as the Wyoming Tribune Eagle and other news media have reported.

"Wyomingites have historically relied on the right to be left alone by the government — especially when it comes to their private affairs, such as family composition and decisions about their private health care, fundamental rights guaranteed by the Wyoming Constitution," the new suit began. "On Wednesday, July 27, 2022, for Wyoming women and their families, these rights will be taken by the state government and cease to exist."

Defendants

Gordon on Friday had sent a letter to the secretary of state saying he had certified the anti-abortion law. Earlier last week, the state's attorney general, Bridget Hill, had reported that the law passed legal muster with her office.

Both Gordon and Hill were named as defendants in the case, marked as No. 18732 and filed by the Robinson Welch Bramlet law firm in Jackson.

"Just as she does with all statutes when their constitutionality is challenged, the Attorney General will respond to this lawsuit and defend the legality of this law," Gordon said in a statement.

The law firm that filed the case declined to comment on Tuesday, while Hill's office did not immediately reply to the WTE's inquiry seeking comment. Both pro-choice and anti-abortion groups had no reaction to the suit.

The suit called the law's three exceptions "ambiguous," saying it will be difficult for victims of rape or incest to prove these offenses in the limited time they have to end a pregnancy. The third scenario for which the law allows abortions is when the women's life (not specifically her mental health) is in danger.

The legal complaint noted the state's only provider of abortions, Dr. Giovannina Anthony in Jackson, will be required to stop the practice. Already facing a shortage of women's health care providers in the state, pregnant people will also be forced to travel outside the state for abortion care, the suit contended.

The governor's certification of the ban followed state AG Hill's review of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade at the end of June. Hill wrote the day before Gordon's certification that she'd determined the enforcement of the law, Enrolled Act 57, would be fully authorized under the decision.

The ban carries a possible 14 years in prison for a pregnant person who gets an abortion or a health care provider that helps someone obtain an abortion.

Other defendants in the case did not have any comment when queried by the WTE. They are Matthew Carr, who is the sheriff of Teton County, and Michelle Weber, the chief of police for the town of Jackson.

One of the plaintiffs, a woman who is 22 weeks pregnant, described how her health care options would be limited by the ban, including delaying care until she is in a potentially life-threatening situation. Another woman, a practicing Jew, said her religion requires abortion to be an option when either physical or mental health of the pregnant person is in jeopardy.

Two medical doctors argued that they would no longer be able to "offer ethical, evidence-based health care" to patients under the ban.

The suit argued that, after the ban goes into effect, "some women may be forced to forego educational opportunities, face decreased opportunities to fulfill their economic potential, and may be more likely to experience economic uncertainty and raise their children in poverty due to the Wyoming Criminal Abortion Ban."

Hannah Black is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's criminal justice reporter. She can be reached at hblack@wyomingnews.com or 307-633-3128. Follow her on Twitter at @hannahcblack.