Wyoming Supreme Court Rules Abortion May Stay Legal Due To Obamacare Amendment

Authored by Arjun Singh via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The Supreme Court of Wyoming, on Jan. 6, ruled that two state laws banning the procedure and the availability of abortion medication were unconstitutional.

The court, in the case of State v. Johnson, held that the two laws in question—the Life is a Human Right Act of 2023, which bans abortion procedures, and the state’s abortion drug ban—violated Article 1, Section 38 of the Constitution of Wyoming. That provision of the state constitution was added by a statewide referendum in 2012, which states, “Each competent adult shall have the right to make his or her own health care decisions.”

“All five Wyoming Supreme Court justices agreed that the decision whether to terminate or continue a pregnancy is a woman’s own health care decision protected by Article 1, Section 38,” wrote the court in a summary of its opinion and announcement of the decision.

The court added that “all five justices also concluded that an adult’s right to make his or her own health care decisions is a fundamental right because of the very specific language used,” even though the referendum was passed in response to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, known more commonly as “Obamacare.”

The court, however, split four to one on deciding whether the laws in question could be struck down.

“Four justices (Boomgaarden, Fox, Jarosh, and Fenn) voted to strike down the 2023 abortion laws. Justice Gray voted to uphold the laws,” the court’s summary read.

The court noted that even though Article 1, Section 38 was passed in response to Obamacare, the language of the provision was inflexible, writing, “The Court recognized it cannot add words to the Wyoming Constitution. … But lawmakers could ask Wyoming voters to consider a constitutional amendment that would more clearly address this issue.”

Lower courts, when reviewing the case, also struck down the laws.

Wyoming is a heavily conservative state that is dominated by the Republican Party, and pro-life sentiment is widespread. Following the ruling, Governor of Wyoming Mark Gordon called for a referendum to amend the constitution and invalidate the ruling.

“This ruling may settle, for now, a legal question, but it does not settle the moral one, nor does it reflect where many Wyoming citizens stand, including myself. It is time for this issue to go before the people for a vote,” Gordon wrote in a statement published on social media. “I call on the legislature to pass and place a clear constitutional amendment on my desk.”

The lead plaintiff in the case, Wellspring Health Access in Casper, Wyoming, celebrated the ruling.

“Our clinic will remain open and ready to provide compassionate reproductive health care, including abortions, and our patients in Wyoming will be able to obtain this care without having to travel out of state,” said Julie Burkhart, the organization’s president, in a statement.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.