Wyoming Supreme Court Invalidates State Abortion Laws
In a landmark decision, the Wyoming Supreme Court has overturned two significant pieces of state legislation concerning abortion, echoing a prior ruling from a lower court. This decision invalidates the 2023 “Life is a Human Right Act” as well as another law that restricted abortion medication.
The court’s decision, reached by a 4-1 vote in State v. Johnson, was spearheaded by Chief Justice Lynne J. Boomgaarden. She argued that these laws contravened Article 1, § 38 of the Wyoming Constitution, which enshrines the right for individuals to make personal health care decisions. “Although we recognize the State’s interest in protecting the life that an abortion would end, 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,” Boomgaarden stated.
Justice John G. Fenn, while concurring with the majority that abortion is a personal health care decision, diverged on the application of “strict scrutiny” to Article 1, § 38. He opined, “I would find Article 1, § 38 allows the legislature to enact reasonable and necessary restrictions that do not unduly infringe on the right to make one’s own health care decisions.” However, he agreed that the state did not meet this requirement, rendering the statutes unconstitutional.
In contrast, Justice Kari Jo Gray dissented, asserting that the legislation serves as a “reasonable and necessary” measure to protect prenatal life, a decision she believes falls within the purview of elected officials. “When a fetus is entitled to legal protection is quintessentially a policy judgment about the relative weight of competing interests,” she wrote, emphasizing the role of the legislature in making such determinations.
Julie Burkhart, leading Wellspring Health Access of Casper, the sole abortion clinic in Wyoming, lauded the decision, declaring it a triumph for Wyoming residents’ right to self-determination regarding their health. “This ruling is a victory for the fundamental right of people across Wyoming to make decisions about their own lives and health,” she noted, as reported by WyoFile.
On the political front, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon expressed his disappointment with the court’s ruling, urging the state’s legislature to craft a constitutional amendment to facilitate such abortion bans. He stated, “It is time for this issue to go before the people for a vote, and I believe it should go before them this fall. A constitutional amendment taken to the people of Wyoming would trump any and all judicial decisions,” according to WyoFile.
This article was originally written by www.christianpost.com
