In a sweeping decision with major implications for reproductive health care in the Mountain West, the Wyoming Supreme Court has invalidated two of the state’s most restrictive abortion laws, including a first-in-the-nation ban on medication abortion.
The unanimous 5–0 ruling blocked enforcement of a statute that sought to prohibit the use of abortion pills such as mifepristone and misoprostol. In doing so, the court ensured continued access to medication abortion for patients across Wyoming, citing constitutional protections that safeguard personal medical decision-making.
Writing for the court, Former Justice Kate Fox emphasized that the Wyoming Constitution guarantees adults the right to make private health care choices without undue government intrusion. The justices concluded that the legislature overstepped its authority by attempting to criminalize a medical option that falls within those protected rights.
The decision also addressed a separate, near-total abortion ban passed earlier by lawmakers. That measure, modeled on a Texas-style enforcement scheme allowing private citizens to sue providers, had already been blocked by lower courts. The Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional as well, finding that it violated the state’s explicit privacy provisions.
As a result, Wyoming law now reverts to an earlier framework under which abortion remains legal up to fetal viability, generally considered to be around 23 or 24 weeks of pregnancy. Both procedural and medication-based abortion services are therefore permitted under state law.
The ruling is independent of ongoing federal court battles over the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone. The Wyoming case focused exclusively on whether the state itself could impose such restrictions under its constitution.
Governor Mark Gordon, who had signed both laws, said he was disappointed by the outcome and is reviewing the decision to determine possible next steps. Supporters of the overturned measures argued they were intended to protect fetal life, while critics said they endangered patient health and autonomy.
The lawsuit challenging the medication abortion ban was brought by Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains. Its president and chief executive, Adrienne Mansanares, welcomed the ruling, calling it a major relief for patients and providers and a clear affirmation that health care decisions belong to individuals, not politicians.
While the court left intact some existing regulations-such as parental consent requirements for minors and a mandatory 48-hour waiting period-the core legal pathways to abortion access in Wyoming are now firmly protected under state constitutional law.
Legal analysts say the decision could influence similar challenges in other states with explicit privacy guarantees, underscoring how state constitutions may play a decisive role in the post-Roe legal landscape.
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