Abortion Litigation in Wyoming – Fighting to Stop Unconstitutional Restrictions on Our Freedom to Make Personal Decisions About Our Bodies, Futures and Health Care

Since the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade in June of 2022, Chelsea’s Fund has been involved in litigation to uphold the right to an abortion in Wyoming. In July of 2022, we filed suit to stop the Wyoming abortion ban from taking effect on July 27th. In response, the District Court granted a preliminary injunction blocking Wyoming’s abortion ban from going into effect until the court could render a decision. In November of 2022, at the State’s request, the District Court referred the case to the Wyoming Supreme Court for decision. In December of 2022, the Wyoming Supreme Court declined to hear the case until further development of the facts.

In March of 2023, the Wyoming legislature passed a new statewide abortion ban that repeals and replaces the ban our existing lawsuit contested. Governor Gordon allowed this new ban to pass into law on March 18th, 2023. This action again sought to make abortion illegal in Wyoming. In response, we filed a new lawsuit seeking to overturn this ban, as well as a request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) blocking the ban until a court can rule on our case. On March 22nd, 2023, our TRO request was granted, allowing abortion to remain legal in Wyoming until the court can hear our case. In June, 2023, the court also granted a TRO for the medication abortion ban that was set to go into effect on July 1, 2023.

We currently anticipate a summary judgment hearing on Dec. 14, 2023, to be followed by a decision by the District Court on the merits of our claims of unconstitutionality. Undoubtedly, the losing side will appeal to the Wyoming Supreme Court for a final decision on the bans.