CHEYENNE, Wyo. — In a significant decision, Wyoming’s Republican Governor, Mark Gordon, recently vetoed a bill that aimed to impose mandatory ultrasound examinations on women seeking medication-induced abortions. Governor Gordon expressed his reservations concerning the bill, specifically highlighting its impact on victims of rape and incest, noting the potential intrusiveness and medical redundancy of such a requirement.
Governor Gordon stated in his veto explanation, “Mandating this intimate, personally invasive, and often medically unnecessary procedure goes too far.” Despite Gordon’s veto, the bill still retains the prospect of becoming law as it secured a 45-16 vote for an override in Wyoming’s House. As of late Tuesday, the state’s Senate had yet to revisit the bill, where it would need a two-thirds majority to become law.
Advocates for abortion access, including Christine Lichtenfels of Chelsea’s Fund, welcomed the governor’s decision. “It’s important that women are able to access this health care without undue and unnecessary burden,” Lichtenfels emphasized on Tuesday.
The vetoed bill would have required women seeking medication abortions to undergo ultrasounds, a stipulation inconvenient in Wyoming due to its rural landscape and limited medical infrastructure, potentially necessitating long-distance travel for appointments.
Currently, abortion is still legal in Wyoming, with its status contingent on an ongoing lawsuit in the state supreme court addressing existing bans. The availability of abortion services has diminished, however, following the halting of both pill and surgical abortions by the state’s sole full-service abortion clinic. This cessation occurred after Governor Gordon sanctioned a new law mandating clinics providing surgical abortions to operate as licensed surgical centers. Consequently, Wellspring Health Access in Casper paused its abortion services.
This situation likely compels more women from Wyoming to seek abortions in neighboring states like Colorado, where the procedure remains accessible. Despite the restrictions, Wellspring Health Access President Julie Burkhart assured that the clinic continues to support their call-in patients, thanking the governor for the veto.
“We are here for them, now and always,” declared Burkhart in a statement, highlighting Wellspring’s commitment to patient care, even as they challenge the bans and licensing requirements in court.
The vetoed legislation sought to restrict the predominant form of abortion in Wyoming. According to the Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights, as of 2023, more than 60% of abortions in the U.S. involved medication, with Wyoming showcasing the highest percentage using pills — 19 out of 20.
Even amid new legal restraints, abortion medication stays available in Wyoming via telehealth services like Just the Pill and several online providers. Communications with a family medicine physician in Jackson, known for dispensing abortion medications, were pending as inquiries aimed to determine if they continue the practice.