ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Judge to weigh suspending Wyoming's first-in-the-U.S. ban on abortion pills

\A patient prepares to take the first of two combination pills, mifepristone, for a medication abortion during a visit to a clinic in Kansas City, Kan., on Oct. 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File) \A patient prepares to take the first of two combination pills, mifepristone, for a medication abortion during a visit to a clinic in Kansas City, Kan., on Oct. 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
Share
CHEYENNE, Wyo. -

Wyoming's first-in-the-U.S. ban on abortion pills will come before a state judge Thursday as the court considers whether the prohibition should take effect as planned July 1 or be put on hold pending the outcome of a lawsuit.

While other states have instituted de facto bans on the medication by broadly prohibiting abortion, Wyoming in March became the first U.S. state to specifically ban abortion pills. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in April that access to one of the two pills, mifepristone, may continue while litigants seeking to overturn the Food and Drug Administration's approval of it.

Two non-profit organizations in Wyoming, including an abortion clinic that opened in Casper in April; and four women, including two obstetricians, have sued to stop Wyoming from curbing access to the abortion pills. On Thursday, Teton County Judge Melissa Owens will hear arguments about what should happen as the lawsuit plays out.

Wellspring Health Access, Wyoming's first full-service abortion clinic in years, offers pill abortions among its services. Previously only one other clinic in Wyoming -- a women's health centre in Jackson, some 250 miles (400 kilometres) away -- offered the option.

The same plaintiffs seeking to keep abortion pills legal in Wyoming are also suing to stop a new, near-total ban on abortion in the state. Both new laws were enacted after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade last year. Since then, some 25 million women and teenagers of child-bearing age have been subjected to either stricter controls on ending their pregnancies or almost total bans on the procedure.

Owens combined the two Wyoming lawsuits into one case. Just a few days after the state's general abortion ban took effect in March, the judge suspended it to keep abortion legal in Wyoming, for now.

Both of Wyoming's new abortion laws allow exceptions to save a pregnant woman's life and for cases of rape or incest that are reported to police.

In recent years, medication abortions using two kinds of pills, usually taken days apart, have become the preferred method for ending pregnancy in the U.S., in part because the process offers a less invasive alternative to surgical abortions. Until Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon signed the legislation outlawing medication abortions, no state had passed a law specifically prohibiting abortion pills, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports abortion rights.

However, 13 states enacted blanket abortion bans that included medical abortions and 15 states already had limited access to the pills.

Wyoming officials have vowed to "vigorously defend" the state's new laws, while opponents say they infringe on women's basic rights.

CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porsche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.

Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

Advocates have identified the woman who died this week after being shot by police in Surrey, B.C., as a South American refugee who was raising a young daughter.

Three men were injured after trying to subdue a man armed with a knife during afternoon prayers at a Montreal-area mosque Friday afternoon.

A 15-year-old boy who was the subject of an emergency alert in New Brunswick has been arrested.

The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.

Provincial police investigating the death of a cat that was allegedly set on fire in Orillia earlier this week released surveillance video of a person of interest in the case.

Local Spotlight

Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.