| CHEYENNE, WY – As the majority of abortions are now chemical abortions in the United States, Wyoming has become the first state to explicitly ban abortion pills and will impose criminal penalties upon those who violate the law. Last Friday, Governor Mark Gordon signed SF0109, known as the “Prohibiting Chemical Abortions” bill, which states “it shall be unlawful to prescribe, dispense, distribute, sell or use any drug for the purpose of procuring or performing an abortion on any person.” The only exceptions are “to preserve the woman from an imminent peril that substantially endangers her life or health, according to appropriate medical judgment, or the pregnancy is the result of incest or sexual assault.” Abortionists who violate the law would be charged with a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than six months, a $9,000 fine, or both. According to this law, a woman upon whom a chemical abortion is performed or attempted shall not be criminally prosecuted. |
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| Another law, HB0152, known as the “Life Is a Human Right Act,” became law last Sunday without Governor Gordon’s signature. This law modifies an existing abortion ban in the state to now include prescribing or selling abortion pills. This law states, “From conception, the unborn baby is a member of the human race,” and “all members of the human race are created equal.” The legislation states that “no person may be deprived of life or liberty without due process of law.” Abortions may take place only to save the life of the mother, if the child is conceived in rape or incest, or if the child has a “lethal fetal anomaly.” The law also refers to Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization when it states, “Wyoming’s legitimate interests include respect for and preservation of prenatal life at all stages of development; the protection of maternal health and safety; the elimination of particularly gruesome or barbaric medical procedures; the preservation of the integrity of the medical profession; the mitigation of fetal pain; and the prevention of discrimination on the basis of race, sex, or disability.”Abortionists who kill an unborn child would be guilty of a felony with punishment up to five years in prison, or a $20,000 fine, or both. Abortionists can have their medical licenses revoked. It also creates a right of action for mothers who suffered an abortion, or her parents if she is a minor or deceased, for $10,000 in statutory damages, as well as “actual and punitive damages.” In addition, the woman who underwent the abortion shall not be prosecuted. The pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute has released data revealing that chemical abortions accounted for the majority of all abortions for the first time in U.S. history in 2020. Every three years, Guttmacher surveys all known abortion providers in America. In 2020, abortion pills accounted for 54 percent of all U.S. abortions, an increase from 44 percent in 2019. Chemical abortions accounted for 39 percent of all abortions in 2017, an increase from 29 percent in 2014. The abortion drugs, sold under the brand name Mifeprex, is a two-drug treatment that is approved to terminate a pregnancy up to 10 weeks gestation or less when the baby has a beating heart and arms and legs. There has been a steady increase in the use of abortion pills since September 2000 when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved mifepristone/RU-486, which cuts off blood and nutrients to the unborn baby, slowly starving it to death over one to two days. This drug is taken with misoprostol, which induces labor and causes severe cramping, contractions and bleeding to expel the baby from the womb. A 2019 study published in the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience provides additional evidence of the harmful biological and behavioral effects of drug-induced abortion. Using rat subjects, the findings “strongly suggest that pregnancy termination at mid-term (first-trimester human equivalent) induces significant negative biological and behavioral changes in the rat.” The study found that drug-induced abortion presented more negative effects than a spontaneous abortion through miscarriage. Finally, the study found there were positive benefits to carrying the baby to term. The Franciscan University three-year study, which was conducted by a team of behavioral neuroscientists who do not have ties to the abortion industry, clearly indicates that there are negative consequences such as depression, anxiety, loss of appetite and decreased self-care after terminating a viable pregnancy using mifepristone and misoprostol. Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “We commend Wyoming legislators for protecting unborn children and mothers by banning this human genocide. Chemical abortions harm women physically and emotionally and end the life of defenseless children. More states need to follow Wyoming’s example.” Liberty Counsel is a public law firm and a news partner with the Wyoming News. |
