Wyoming Abortion Laws Ruled Unconstitutional Under State Health Care Rights Provision
The Wyoming Supreme Court on Tuesday affirmed a lower court ruling striking down two state abortion laws, concluding that a total abortion ban and a separate prohibition on abortion pills violated the Wyoming Constitution.
The challenged statutes were enacted in 2022 following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade. One law imposed a near-total abortion ban with limited exceptions for rape and incest. The other barred the use of abortion medication, making Wyoming the first state in the nation to enact a specific ban on abortion pills.
In a 4–1 decision, the court sided with a group of petitioners that included Wellspring Health Access, the state’s only abortion clinic, two obstetricians, four women seeking care, and an abortion access advocacy organization, the Chelsea Fund. The petitioners argued that the laws violated Article 1, Section 38 of the Wyoming Constitution, which guarantees residents “the right to make his or her own health care decisions” and requires the state to protect those rights from undue government interference.
The state argued that abortion does not qualify as health care under the constitutional provision and therefore falls outside its protections. The court rejected that position, holding that the constitutional language applies even though it was not drafted with abortion specifically in mind.
Writing for the majority, Chief Justice Boomgaarden acknowledged the state’s interest in protecting potential life but concluded that Wyoming failed to meet its burden under the Constitution. “Although we recognize the State’s interest in protecting the life that an abortion would end,” the court wrote, “we conclude the State did not meet its burden of justifying the abortion statutes’ restrictions on a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions, as is expressly protected by the Wyoming Constitution.”
The court emphasized that its role was limited to interpreting the existing constitutional text, not rewriting it. In doing so, the justices left open a path for legislative action, noting that lawmakers could ask voters to consider a constitutional amendment that more directly addresses abortion policy.
Governor Mark Gordon responded to the ruling by expressing disappointment and urging state lawmakers to pursue such an amendment. He indicated support for placing a constitutional proposal before Wyoming voters as early as this fall.
The decision keeps abortion services legal in Wyoming for now and places the future of abortion regulation in the state squarely in the hands of voters, should lawmakers move forward with a constitutional amendment process.
