Right to Life Wyoming is partnering with a pair of state lawmakers to defend pro-life legislation challenged by abortionists in court.
On Monday, Reps. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams and Chip Neiman filed an appeal with Right to Life Wyoming to protest a court ruling that blocked their intervention in Johnson v. State of Wyoming.
“The state of Wyoming is eager to uphold its law affirming that life is a human right and ensure women are given the real health care and support they deserve,” said Tim Garrison, a senior counsel for the conservative legal group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). The non-profit legal organization is representing the pro-life group and its allied lawmakers in the state court.
“Our clients have a clear interest in defending that law, which safeguards the lives of unborn children and well-being of their mothers,” Garrison said in a press release. “We will urge the Wyoming Supreme Court to allow them to help defend Wyoming’s duly enacted law.”
Wyoming Republican Gov. Mark Gordan signed the Life Is a Human Right Act in March. The bill criminalizes abortion administration either by pill or procedure with a felony charge carrying up to five years in prison. Doctors would also have their medical licenses revoked, with the legislation offering few exceptions for rape, incest, or risk to the mother’s life.
Pro-abortion activists immediately challenged the law in court from Teton County. Locals often refer to the northwestern corner of the sparsely populated state as the “California region” of Wyoming.
Ninth District Judge Melissa Owens temporarily blocked the new law days after the legislation was signed. Judge Owens also blocked a later motion to intervene by the pair of state lawmakers and Right to Life Wyoming on July 20. Legislators are now appealing that denial to the state Supreme Court.
According to an abortion ban tracker by Axios, at least 18 states have banned or restricted abortion in the aftermath of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that overturned the precedent established by Roe v. Wade. Wyoming is one of four states where an abortion ban is being blocked.
The number of abortions dropped by more than 10,000 nationwide in the first two months following the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade which prohibited restrictions on the deadly medical procedure, according to the Society of Family Planning.
In Ohio, abortion is at the center of Tuesday’s ballot referendum that will determine how easy it will be to amend the state constitution. Issue 1 raises the threshold for changes from a simple majority to 60 percent approval of voters. The measure was introduced to voters for the August primaries after pro-abortion groups launched a campaign to embed abortion as a “right” in the state constitution.
