Judge blocks new Wyoming abortion laws, clearing way for Casper clinic to resume services

A state judge Monday halted enforcement of Wyoming’s two new abortion laws, clearing the way for the state’s lone abortion clinic to resume offering those services after a nearly two-month pause.

The laws — a set of new, more stringent regulations and a mandatory ultrasound requirement — “affect a fundamental right expressly provided for by the Wyoming Constitution,” District Judge Thomas T.C. Campbell wrote in his 10-page decision. 

“At least at this juncture, the State Defendants failed demonstrating that the laws are necessary, reasonable, or advance a compelling government interest,” Campbell wrote. “In fact, the uncontested evidence indicates otherwise.”

Wellspring Health Access in Casper stopped providing abortions in late February after the Wyoming Legislature passed the new abortion restrictions. It had been the only clinic in the state providing procedural abortions. In the month following the new laws, it referred 80 patients seeking abortions to out-of-state providers.

Following Campbell’s ruling, Wellspring announced it would reopen for abortion services on Thursday. Julie Burkhart, the clinic’s president, called it a “great day for Wyoming.” Burkhart described the new laws as political gimmicks that were “designed to sidestep constitutional protections.”

“These laws have placed burdens on patients and their families, adding stress instead of support,” she said in a statement. “Wyomingites don’t need government overreach in their personal health decisions — they need leadership from their elected leaders who will partner with us for the best possible health care.”

Wellspring and other abortion providers and advocates filed suit the day after the first of the new laws went into effect and asked a judge to halt their enforcement while the case played out. Their attorneys maintain the restrictions — including one that requires abortion clinics to be regulated as “ambulatory surgical centers” — are thinly veiled attempts to block abortion in Wyoming after a separate district judge threw out two abortion bans passed by the Legislature in 2023. Abortion advocates maintain the laws don’t make women any safer and are intended to target Wellspring directly.

Constitutional amendment

In making their case, the plaintiffs’ attorneys cited a 2012 amendment to the Wyoming Constitution that protects people’s rights to make their own health care decisions. The same attorneys used that amendment to convince Teton County District Judge Melissa Owens to overturn the 2023 abortion bans.

In his ruling Monday, Campbell centered his decision on the same constitutional amendment. He rejected the state’s arguments that both new laws protected the health and welfare of women seeking abortions. He noted that the state failed to provide any evidence challenging the plaintiffs’ assertions that surgical abortions are inherently safe, nor did they offer an explanation for why requiring the doctors at Wellspring to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital is reasonable or necessary.

“Quite simply, the State Defendants fail to link [ambulatory surgical center] requirements to women’s safety and general welfare,” he wrote. “In fact, the evidence presented by the Plaintiffs stands largely uncontroverted.”

Campbell also expressed skepticism toward the state’s arguments for the medical necessity of the ultrasound and 48-hour-waiting-period requirements.

“That a transvaginal ultrasound is necessary to obtain informed consent offends common sense,” he wrote. “The State Defendants assert that such practice could potentially identify ectopic pregnancies earlier; thus, generally promoting women’s health. However, the fact that only women seeking abortions would benefit, corrodes that argument.”

Ruling reaction

In their lawsuit, attorneys for the plaintiffs questioned the state’s arguments over safety. They cited comments by Speaker of the House Chip Neiman, R-Hulett, who has publicly said his support for new abortion laws was focused on ending the practice entirely instead of simply making it safer. As of late Monday afternoon, Neiman had not responded to a request for comment from WyoFile.

The Wyoming Freedom Caucus, of which Neiman is a member, released a statement criticizing Campbell and the ruling. The group described the new laws as common-sense regulations and said its members were “deeply disturbed” by the decision. 

Rep. Martha Lawley, R-Worland, sponsored the abortion regulation bill. She did not respond to a message seeking comment Monday, but has said in the past that Wyoming had a “real lack of regulation” in the area of surgical abortions.

Abortion rights advocates cheered Monday’s decision.

“The Court found what we all know — these restrictions are unnecessary, offend common sense and, as Judge Campbell said about the 48-hour waiting period, serve no legitimate purpose,” Christine Lichtenfels, executive director Chelsea’s Fund, an abortion aid group and plaintiff in the case, said in a statement. 

“We are so grateful that Wyoming women will once again be able to access vital abortion care without unreasonable and unnecessary restrictions.”

The case took a winding route to reach Monday’s injunction. The plaintiffs filed suit in Natrona County on Feb. 28 and sought an emergency hearing. When Judge Dan Forgey didn’t act on their request after 12 days, they refiled the case in Teton County. It landed before Owens, who ruled it belonged in Natrona County — home of Wellspring — and sent it back.

When it returned, the case was quickly reassigned from Forgey to Campbell,  who had retired from a district judge post in Laramie County last year. No explanation was offered by the courts for the switch. 

Campbell’s ruling doesn’t end the case. Instead, it halts enforcement of the laws while the lawsuit proceeds.

In the meantime, the Wyoming Supreme Court is now weighing arguments in the 2023 abortion bans case. A ruling on that case is expected later this year. 

Staff writer Maggie Mullen contributed to this report.