State legislators are considering a bill that would force pregnant Wyomingites to get an ultrasound at least 48 hours before being prescribed medication for an abortion.
HB 64, sponsored by House Speaker Rep. Chip Neiman (R-Hulett), passed out of the House Labor, Health and Social Services Committee on Wednesday.
The committee voted to move the measure to the House floor after heated public comment both for the bill and against it.
Those testifying in favor said it’s meant to protect the health of women who choose to have an abortion.
“An ultrasound is a minimum requirement,” testified former Rep. Jeanette Ward (R-Casper), a former Wyoming Freedom Caucus member. “Abortion is not healthcare, it’s death care.”
Critics pointed to the fact that medication abortions are considered safe, with a complication rate of less than 3%, according to a meta-analysis of scientific studies. They said the intention of the bill is to make it harder or impossible for pregnant people to get abortions in the state even after a Teton County district judge struck Wyoming’s two abortion laws down in November.
“Abortion is healthcare,” said Rene Hinkle, an OB-GYN physician in Cheyenne. “The [Teton County] court in Wyoming just agreed with that. Reproductive healthcare does have repercussions if it is banned. We can see that in the state of Texas and many other states.”
The bill now goes to the full House to finish out its first reading in the Committee of the Whole. If it passes a vote there and two more readings, the bill moves to the Senate.
A similar version of the 48 hour ultrasounds policy was vetoed by Gov. Mark Gordon last year. At the time, it was lumped together with another revived bill also under consideration by the committee this week.
That bill, HB 42, would slap regulations on the only remaining clinic that provides procedural abortions in the state, Wellspring Health Access in Casper.
It’s set to be discussed on Friday, Jan. 24, by the House Labor Committee.
This reporting was made possible by a grant from the Corporation For Public Broadcasting, supporting state government coverage in the state. Wyoming Public Media and Jackson Hole Community Radio are partnering to cover state issues both on air and online.
