Abortion in Wyoming

In 2017, there were medical facilities that would perform abortions, but they did not make this information public, and women could only find out about these services if they were existing patients.{{Cite web|url=https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/paz4bv/last-clinics-seven-states-one-abortion-clinic-left|title=Seven states have only one remaining abortion clinic. We talked to the people keeping them open.|last=McCann|first=Allison|date=May 23, 2017|website=Vice News|access-date=2019-05-23}}

In 1950, the state legislature passed a law stating that a woman who had an abortion or actively sought to have an abortion regardless of whether she went through with it was guilty of a criminal offense. It is not clear how often the law was enforced. A bill protecting women's access to abortion was introduced in 1997 but did not succeed in getting a floor vote.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RDqXplZptaIC|title=A State-By-State Review of Abortion and Reproductive Rights|last1=Arndorfer|first1=Elizabeth|last2=Michael|first2=Jodi|last3=Moskowitz|first3=Laura|last4=Grant|first4=Juli A.|last5=Siebel|first5=Liza|date=December 1998|publisher=Diane Publishing|isbn=9780788174810}}

A fetal heartbeat bill, HB 97, was introduced in the Wyoming House of Representatives in January 2013 by Kendell Kroeker; however, in February 2013 the bill was struck down by a house committee in a 4–5 vote.{{cite web|url=http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/wyoming-house-panel-votes-down-abortion-bill/article_bb56bab3-9ce9-5b40-a968-559b0e155e07.html|title=Wyoming House Panel votes down abortion bill|author=Hancock, Laura|date=January 29, 2013|work=Casper Star-Tribune|access-date=July 28, 2013}}{{cite web|url=http://legiscan.com/WY/bill/HB0097/2013|title=WY HB0097 - 2013 - Regular Session|work=LegiScan}} The state legislature was one of five states nationwide that tried to pass such a bill that year.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/us/abortion-laws-states.html|title=Abortion Bans: 8 States Have Passed Bills to Limit the Procedure This Year|last=Lai|first=K. K. Rebecca|date=2019-05-15|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-05-24|issn=0362-4331}} On July 1, 2017, a law passed by the state legislature went into effect the prohibited the sale of fetal tissue.  Another law that went into effect that day required abortion service providers to give women seeking abortions an ultrasound, but it had no enforcement component. As of May 14, 2019, the state prohibited abortions after the fetus was viable, generally some point between week 24 and 28. This period uses a standard defined by the US Supreme Court in 1973 with the Roe v. Wade ruling.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/us/abortion-laws-states.html|title=Abortion Bans: 8 States Have Passed Bills to Limit the Procedure This Year|last=Lai|first=K. K. Rebecca|date=2019-05-15|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-05-24|issn=0362-4331}}

The US Supreme Court's decision in 1973's Roe v. Wade ruling meant the state could not regulate abortion in the first trimester.{{Cite journal|last=Buell|first=Samuel|date=1991-01-01|title=Criminal Abortion Revisited|url=https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/faculty_scholarship/2174|journal=New York University Law Review|volume=66|issue=6 |pages=1774–1831|pmid=11652642 }} However, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, {{ussc|597||2022|docket=19-1392}} later in 2022.{{cite web |url = https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/24/politics/dobbs-mississippi-supreme-court-abortion-roe-wade/index.html |title = Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade |first = Ariane |last = de Vogue |date = June 24, 2022 |access-date = June 24, 2022 |work = CNN |archive-date = June 24, 2022 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220624141808/https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/24/politics/dobbs-mississippi-supreme-court-abortion-roe-wade/index.html |url-status = live }}{{cite news |last1 = How4e |first1 = Amy |title = Supreme Court overturns constitutional right to abortion |url = https://www.scotusblog.com/2022/06/supreme-court-overturns-constitutional-right-to-abortion/ |work = SCOTUSblog |date = June 24, 2022 |access-date = June 24, 2022 |archive-date = June 24, 2022 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220624142633/https://www.scotusblog.com/2022/06/supreme-court-overturns-constitutional-right-to-abortion/ |url-status = live }} However, a judge in Wyoming found that abortion bans violate the state constitution's clause providing for the right of Wyomingites to make their own health care decisions, passed in a 2012 ballot measure{{cite web |url = https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/judge-allowing-abortions-resume-wyoming-98033814 |title = Judge halts Wyoming abortion ban days after it took effect - ABC News (go.com) |first = Mead |last = Gruver |website = ABC News |date = March 22, 2023 }} The abortion ban was struck down in November 2024.

File:Number of abortion clinics in Wyoming by year.png

{{See also|Abortion clinic}}Between 1982 and 1992, the total number of abortion clinics in the state declined by three, going from eight to five. In 1990, family practice Emerg-A-Care opened in Jackson as urgent care so that tourists in the area would feel comfortable visiting if they needed medical treatment. Among the services they offered were abortion services.

In 2014, there officially was one abortion clinic in the state;{{Cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/how-many-abortion-clinics-are-in-america-each-state-2017-2|title=The number of abortion clinics in the US has plunged in the last decade — here's how many are in each state|last=Gould|first=Rebecca Harrington, Skye|website=Business Insider|access-date=2019-05-23}} 96% of counties in the state did not have an abortion clinic, and 96% of women in the state aged 15–44 lived in a county without an abortion clinic.{{Cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.es/abortion-access-in-america-maps-charts-if-roe-falls-2018-8|title=This is what could happen if Roe v. Wade fell|author1=Panetta, Grace |author2=lee, Samantha|date=2018-08-04|website=Business Insider|language=es|access-date=2019-05-24|archive-date=2019-05-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190524083342/https://www.businessinsider.es/abortion-access-in-america-maps-charts-if-roe-falls-2018-8|url-status=dead}} In March 2016, there was only one Planned Parenthood clinic in the state.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thestate.com/news/databases/article67953487.html|title=27 states with the most Planned Parenthood clinics|last=Bohatch|first=Emily|website=thestate|access-date=2019-05-24}} After Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains switched from directly billing women to directly billing Medicaid in 2016, they ran into funding bills as Medicaid has low reimbursement rates. Consequently, they were forced to close three clinics in Colorado and Wyoming in July 2017. The closure of the Wyoming clinic meant the state had no more Planned Parenthood clinics, making Wyoming one of two states without a Planned Parenthood clinic.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2017-planned-parenthood-locations-states/|title=Here's Where Women Have Less Access to Planned Parenthood|access-date=2019-05-23}} North Dakota, Wyoming, Mississippi, Louisiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia were the only six states as of July 21, 2017, not to have a Planned Parenthood clinic that offered abortion services. In 2017, there was still only one abortion clinic in Wyoming, but there were claims of two other providers in Jackson Hole that privately would perform abortions for existing patients. These health centers provided around one to five abortions a year. Emerg-A-Care also served women from eastern Idaho. Less than 0.5% of their practice involved providing abortion services. Of the abortions performed in 2017, 80% were medical. In 2020, Emerg-A-Care was sold to a local hospital.{{Cite news|url=https://www.jhnewsandguide.com/news/health/blue-emerg-a-care-sale-isnt-retirement/article_e69d042f-1fda-531a-9417-6464b3ce4698.html|title=Blue: Emerg-A-Care sale isn't retirement|access-date=2021-12-01}}

In the period between 1972 and 1974, there were zero reported illegal abortion deaths in the state.{{Cite journal|last1=Cates|first1=Willard|last2=Rochat|first2=Roger|date=March 1976|title=Illegal Abortions in the United States: 1972–1974|journal=Family Planning Perspectives|volume=8|issue=2|pages=86–92|doi=10.2307/2133995|jstor=2133995|pmid=1269687}} In 1990, 50,000 women were at risk of unintended pregnancies. In 2014, 48% of adults said in a poll by the Pew Research Center that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.{{Cite web|url=https://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/|title=Views about abortion by state - Religion in America: U.S. Religious Data, Demographics and Statistics {{!}} Pew Research Center|access-date=2019-05-23}} In 2017, the state had an infant mortality rate of 4.6 deaths per 1,000 live births. High infant mortality and lack of access to reproductive health care are closely correlated in Wyoming, as in many other states.{{Cite web |title=States pushing abortion bans have highest infant mortality rates |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/health/womens-health/states-pushing-abortion-bans-have-higher-infant-mortality-rates-n1008481 |access-date=May 25, 2019 |website=NBC News|date=24 May 2019 }}

In 1998, women could only receive public funds for an abortion if continuing the pregnancy put their life at risk, if the pregnancy was a result of rape that was reported within five days of it occurring, or was a result of incest. In 2010, the state had zero publicly funded abortions.{{Cite web|url=https://data.guttmacher.org/states/table?state=AL+AK+AZ+AR+CA+CO+CT+DE+DC+FL+GA+HI+ID+IL+IN+IA+KS+KY+LA+ME+MD+MA+MI+MN+MS+MO+MT+NE+NV+NH+NJ+NM+NY+NC+ND+OH+OK+OR+PA+RI+SC+SD+TN+TX+UT+VT+VA+WA+WV+WI+WY&topics=62&dataset=data|title=Guttmacher Data Center|website=data.guttmacher.org|access-date=2019-05-24}}

Women from the state participated in rallies supporting access to abortion as part of the Stop the Bans (#StoptheBans) effort in May 2019. Wyoming Equality was one of the organizers for the Cheyenne #StoptheBans protest that drew women from across the state.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wyomingnewsnow.tv/content/news/Wyoming-Equality-hosts-stoptheban-event--510231591.html|title=Wyoming Equality hosts #stopthebans Cheyenne event|last=Foulk|first=Grace|website=www.wyomingnewsnow.tv|date=21 May 2019 |access-date=May 25, 2019}}

Following the overturn of Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022, dozens of abortion rights protestors rallied and marched outside Wyoming's only clinic offering abortion services in Casper.{{Cite web |last1=Harris |first1=Maya Shimizu |title=Groups protest outside clinic after ban blocked |url=https://www.wyomingnews.com/laramieboomerang/news/groups-protest-outside-clinic-after-ban-blocked/article_f84e860d-0e74-5821-97de-8083ae9c24ac.html |website=Laramie Boomerang |access-date=July 30, 2022 |date=July 30, 2022}}

In 1994, a domestic terrorist responsible for attacks in multiple states bombed the Emerg-A-Care health center in Jackson during the night, causing large amounts of smoke damage that resulted in the clinic being closed for several weeks.

On May 25, 2022, a masked woman set a fire at a planned abortion clinic in Casper, Wyoming. The ATF offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to her arrest.{{cite web |title=Masked, hooded woman seen on video setting fire at what would be Wyoming's only abortion clinic |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/wyoming-only-abortion-clinic-arson-video-reward/ |website=CBS News |access-date=June 25, 2022 |date=June 9, 2022}}

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{{Abortion by US state}}

Wyoming

Category:Healthcare in Wyoming

Category:Women in Wyoming