A group of abortion access advocates are asking the Natrona County District Court to block the Human Heartbeat Act. The law went into effect on March 9 and bans most abortions at six weeks.
That’s because cardiac activity can be detected with a transvaginal ultrasound at about six weeks — a time when abortion advocates say many people don't know they’re pregnant yet.
The motion to the court states that the new law involves the same “fundamental problem” as other abortion-related laws already being considered by the court.
They are asking to add the law to an ongoing case over separate laws, which would require building renovations at abortion clinics and require transvaginal ultrasounds 48 hours before an abortion. Both of those laws have been temporarily blocked.
“[The Human Heartbeat Act] transgresses the constitutional guarantee of Plaintiffs’ and individuals’ to make health care decisions without interference from the government,” says the document filed on the afternoon of March 10 by Robinson Bramlet LLC.
Wyoming Public Radio obtained the filing from Chelsea’s Fund, an abortion-rights nonprofit and one of the plaintiffs in the case — part of the same group that has been challenging the state for years to protect abortion access.
They recently won their case in the Wyoming Supreme Court, when the majority of justices decided to strike down two near-total abortion laws enacted in 2024, saying they violated residents’ right to make their own healthcare decisions, which is specifically protected in the Wyoming Constitution.
The Legislature quickly got to work on more anti-abortion legislation, such as the Human Heartbeat Act, which Gov. Mark Gordon signed on March 9. It carries an exception for cases where the health of the mother is in jeopardy, but not for rape or incest victims, which Gordon called an “unfortunate flaw.”
Chelsea's Fund Executive Director Janean Forsyth said she was disappointed the state again restricted access to “vital care.”
“I'm thinking about everyone from the 15 year old that we supported, whose grandmother actually reached out, a victim of sexual assault,” Forsyth said. “I'm thinking about a family with a very wanted pregnancy that we supported in eventually seeking an abortion for a severe fetal anomaly.”
Forsyth added that abortion laws like this result in medical providers leaving the state.
“So it's not only affecting access to abortion care, it's affecting reproductive healthcare access generally for parents and children, which is really unfortunate,” she said.
Wellspring Health Access in Casper, the state’s only abortion clinic, is cancelling appointments with patients seeking to end their pregnancies later in their term, according to Executive Director Katie Knutter.
Speaker of the House Chip Neiman (R-Hulett) sponsored the law. He said he wasn’t surprised it was met with legal action, as that’s been the trend in recent years.
“I think we’re in a good spot,” Neiman said in a voicemail to Wyoming Public Radio after the lawsuit was filed. “And we’re going to move ahead and the people of the Legislature, Wyoming has spoken.”
Lawmakers decided against putting the issue directly before Wyoming voters as a constitutional amendment this fall. That’s after Gordon urged them to do so to end the legal cycle.
Neiman couldn’t be reached by publication time to comment on the decision to not pursue a constitutional amendment, but in a Jan. 26 town hall, he expressed worries that voters could codify the right to abortion.
In 2024, 64% of Nevada voters supported enshrining the right into the state constitution. A majority will have to vote in favor again later this year to recognize the right.
In his voicemail, Neiman added, “There’s folks out there that are completely good with killing kids, killing babies in the womb, and there’s other folks out here like the Legislature that are fighting desperately to preserve their lives.”
The abortion-rights group said it will ask the court to issue a temporary restraining order and block the new law while the legal challenge proceeds.
