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A retired judge operating on behalf of Natrona County blocked part of a new state law that outlines which medications a healthcare provider can prescribe for off-label uses, a common practice in medicine.
Retired Laramie County District Judge Thomas T.C. Campbell granted a preliminary injunction against language in HB 164 that would’ve excluded the use of abortion pills for off-label uses, among others. The decision comes after a virtual hearing on the matter on June 23.
For instance, mifepristone is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for pregnancy termination and treating hyperglycemia in patients showing signs of Cushing’s syndrome, but its off-label uses also include cervical maturation and adjunct therapy for uterine leiomyomas.
In response to an emailed request for comment from Wyoming Public Radio, a spokesperson for Gov. Mark Gordon and the other defendants named in the case wrote, "The state does not comment on active litigation."
“ The importance of [the ruling] is that medical providers now can feel protected in what they're doing,” plaintiff Christine Lichtenfels said in an interview with WPR on June 30. Lichtenfels is the executive director of the Wyoming abortion-rights nonprofit, Chelsea’s Fund. “ Keep in mind that it's not just the classic medication abortion, but there are a number of issues in women's gynecological care where this applies.”
“It just reflects the Legislature's single-minded focus in wanting to prohibit abortion and not actually understanding all the implications and the medicine that goes in gynecological care for women,” she said. “My recommendation would be that [the Legislature] get out of trying to regulate individual people's healthcare, their own bodies, and that they also comply with the state Constitution and not try to always find ways around it. Let's pay attention to the actual words of the Constitution and the goal of the Constitution, which was to allow individual Wyoming people to have control over their own healthcare. Which is to say, the government doesn't make those decisions.”
In his decision announcing the temporary block, Campbell wrote, “Interference with access to healthcare services equates to irreparable harm. As the Plaintiffs’ evidence demonstrates, the consequences of delayed or denied care are often immediate, non-monetary, and, in many cases, life-altering.”
Attorneys for the state of Wyoming had previously argued the bill’s exact wording doesn’t necessarily mean healthcare providers would be at risk of punishment if they use mifepristone for off-label uses, and that the only reason that line was included in the bill was to make it conform with a partial ban on medication abortion from 2023. That ban is currently being reviewed by the Wyoming Supreme Court, and a ruling is expected in the coming months.
Campbell’s decision effectively adds HB 164 to two other abortion laws he’s also temporarily blocked: an ultrasound requirement for women before they can receive abortion pills and a law that adds regulations for clinics providing procedural abortions.
Abortion advocates in Wyoming added HB 164 to the existing civil lawsuit on May 1 that’s looking to overturn the two new abortion restrictions passed in the last legislative session.
Campell granted a preliminary injunction on April 21 on both restrictions while a trial plays out.
A scheduling hearing for the trial regarding the ultrasounds law, the clinic regulations and HB 164 is set for July 9 at 10 a.m. through the Microsoft Teams app.
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.
