Wednesday, JANUARY 7, 2026 |
Photo – Governor Mark Gordon – Courtesy State of Wyoming
On Tuesday, the Wyoming Supreme Court struck down the state’s near-total abortion ban and a first-of-its-kind prohibition on abortion pills, saying that the laws violated the state constitution.
In 2023, the year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Wyoming passed an abortion ban that included narrow exceptions for incest, sexual assault and cases where the mother’s health is at risk. Later that year, it became the first state in the country to explicitly outlaw abortion pills, setting fines and prison time for anyone found prescribing the drugs for an abortion.
The state’s top officials decried the ruling and promised a pushback.
The state’s high court rejected the constitutionality of House Bill 152 “Life is a Human Right Act” and Senate File 109, “Prohibiting Chemical Abortions,” passed in 2023 and both signed by the Governor on March 17, 2023.
In a written statement, Governor Mark Gordon wrote, “This ruling is profoundly unfortunate and sadly only serves to prolong the ultimate and proper resolution of this issue.”
The Governor added that yesterday’s 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.”
The governor called for the issue to be put to a vote by Wyoming citizens, perhaps as soon as this fall.
Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray wrote that he was “deeply sickened” by the ruling, which he described as being “outrageously wrong.” Gray added the decision does not represent Wyoming values. “Make no mistake: the Wyoming Supreme Court’s decision does not represent Wyoming’s values. The Secretary of State added, “The law that the Supreme Court just struck down was passed by the legislature elected by the people of Wyoming, while the court who struck down the law with their left-wing activist decision was all appointed.”
On Tuesday afternoon, Governor Gordon asked the attorney general’s office to file a petition for a rehearing. The Attorney General’s office has agreed and will file that petition within the 15 days allowed. State lawmakers, meanwhile, are looking at amending the state constitution.
The state argued that abortion is not health care. The Wyoming Supreme Court disagreed.
The case was brought by Wellspring Health Access, Wyoming’s lone abortion clinic.
