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As many states crack down on abortion to protect the unborn, others are doubling down in their protection of the deadly procedure. Most recently, the Wyoming Supreme Court ruled that abortion bans are unconstitutional, bringing years of legal challenges to a close.
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From Cowboy State Daily:
The Wyoming Supreme Court in a 4-1 majority ruled Tuesday that Wyoming’s abortion bans are unconstitutional, under the state Constitution’s promise of health care autonomy.
The decision doesn’t defer to an earlier decision by Teton County District Court Judge Melissa Owens, but charts its own course through the constitutional amendment to arrive at the same ultimate result.
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The ruling concludes nearly four years of legal challenges in Wyoming since the state’s 2022 abortion ban “triggered” into place with the overturn of the federal abortion right under Roe vs. Wade.
All five justices reportedly agreed that a 2012 constitutional amendment promising health care autonomy to adults includes abortion. The justices concluded that abortion access, as a matter of health care autonomy, should be considered a “fundamental right,” placing it under the legal standard of “strict scrutiny,” a standard that Cowboy State Daily calls the “toughest court standard applied to any government action.”
Justice Kari Gray, the lone dissenter, agreed with another justice that legislators can determine “reasonable and necessary restrictions” to the health care right. However, she suggested that the justices should defer to elected lawmakers in considering whether abortion bans could fall under the “reasonable and necessary” label.
Although this ruling shuts down every ban of and restriction on abortion in the state, the fight isn’t over. Governor Mark Gordon lamented the ruling, claiming it doesn’t settle the moral question of abortion, “nor does it reflect where many Wyoming citizens stand.” He called on the legislature to “pass and place a clear constitutional amendment on my desk during the upcoming Budget Session,” settling the issue of the legality of abortion once and for all.
As the Governor and others fight against abortion, let’s pray for the protection of every unborn child in Wyoming!
How are you praying about this ruling? Share your prayers and scriptures below.
(Excerpt from Cowboy State Daily. Photo Credit: Tony Webster – Reproductive Freedom Demonstration – Laramie – Wyoming, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=160440375)
