Wyoming

Will a new Wyoming law protect providers or limit abortions? It depends on which lawyer you ask. – WyoFile

Published

9 months ago

June 23, 2025

Will a new Wyoming law protect providers or limit abortions? It depends on which lawyer you ask. – WyoFile

The same group of abortion rights advocates whose legal challenges have stymied past attempts to stop or limit abortion in Wyoming is seeking to block part of another new law.

That statute, which goes into effect July 1, codifies what is already a long-standing medical practice: that providers can legally prescribe U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved medications for unapproved or off-label uses without fear of punishment from Wyoming licensing boards. But the new law exempts drugs intended to induce an abortion from those protections.

Abortion rights advocates worry the law “indirectly bans abortion medication by threatening physicians and pharmacists with disciplinary action for prescribing off-label use” of certain drugs that are commonly used for medication abortions. On Monday, they asked a judge to block enforcement of the part of the statute that pertains to abortion while their broader lawsuit against it and two other new abortion laws proceed through the courts.

Filings from the lawsuit challenging Wyoming’s abortion bans. (Angus M. Thuermer, Jr./WyoFile)

State attorneys, who are defending all three of the laws, asked Judge Thomas T.C. Campbell to allow the off-label law to go into effect as written. They dispute that the law is another attempt to limit access to abortion medications in Wyoming. Instead, they contend it merely clarifies that the law would not supersede the Wyoming Legislature’s 2023 ban on abortion medications, which is on hold pending a Wyoming Supreme Court ruling expected later this year.

In the meantime, abortion remains legal in Wyoming.

Off-label prescriptions

Prescribing medications for off-label purposes — in other words, uses not approved by the FDA — is common practice and can be a valuable tool for health care providers. Drugs approved to treat one type of cancer might be prescribed off-label for another type of cancer. Or a doctor might, for example, prescribe propranolol, which is approved for treatment of high blood pressure, for some types of anxiety. A medication in a different dose than what is FDA-approved would also qualify as off-label use.

In 2023, the Wyoming Legislature considered a bill intended to offer protections for providers who prescribe off-label drugs. Then Rep. Sarah Penn, R-Lander, sponsored the bill in the wake of a COVID-era controversy over hydroxychloroquine, an FDA-approved malaria drug that some providers prescribed to treat the virus. Some of those doctors faced the prospect of disciplinary actions in other states for providing what critics said was misinformation about the drug.

Rep. Gary Brown listens at the House Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions meeting on Jan. 15, 2025. (Mike Vanata for WyoFile)

Penn’s bill failed, but Rep. Gary Brown, R-Cheyenne, successfully brought back a similar measure this year. House Bill 164, “Medical prescriptions-off-label purposes,” codified the practice of prescribing off-label medications. But it specified those protections did not apply to schedule I or II controlled substances (such as heroin or fentanyl), gender care for children and medications intended to induce an abortion.

The most common regimen of those abortion medications includes the drugs mifepristone and misoprostol. Typically, a patient takes mifepristone first, then misoprostol one or two days later, according to medical providers cited in the plaintiff’s court documents. Both drugs are used off-label for abortion care in some circumstances.

Old case, new challenge

Wyoming’s lone abortion clinic — Casper’s Wellspring Health Access — and a group of abortion rights advocates are already suing to challenge two other laws from the 2025 legislative session. One added more stringent restrictions on abortion clinics, while a second required ultrasounds and a 48-hour waiting period.

In April, Judge Campbell blocked enforcement of those laws while the legal challenge proceeds. On Monday, both sides appeared virtually in Natrona County District Court to debate whether HB 164 should also be halted while the broader case plays out.

Wellspring Health Access is pictured in February 2025 in central Casper. The clinic provides abortion services. (Joshua Wolfson/WyoFile)

Like past court hearings, abortion rights advocates used a 2012 amendment to the Wyoming Constitution, which protects people’s rights to make their own health care decisions, to help make their case. That amendment allows the Legislature to determine “reasonable and necessary restrictions” when they protect general health and welfare, and was cited by Teton County District Judge Melissa Owens when she struck down a pair of 2023 abortion bans in November.

Exempting abortion medications from off-label protections is not reasonable or necessary for public health, and is therefore unconstitutional, plaintiff’s attorney Bethany Saul argued. Most abortions are performed with medications, and the evidence shows those drugs are safe and rarely produce serious complications.

And yet, health care providers who prescribe abortion drugs would be singled out by HB 164 and exempted from its protections without good reason, Saul told the court. If the law goes into effect as it’s now written, she added, providers may not prescribe the proper medications for their patients due to fears they might face future disciplinary actions from state licensing boards.

“This is not just a perceived risk,” she said. “We are facing a real risk.”

After receiving a ruling from District Court Judge Melissa Owens, Marci Bramlet, an attorney representing the plaintiffs suing the state, talks with plaintiffs Dr. Giovannina Anthony and Christine Lichtenfels on March 25 in district court in Jackson. (Kathryn Ziesig/Jackson Hole News&Guide/pool)

Senior Attorney General John Woykovsky defended the law, arguing the plaintiffs were misinterpreting HB 164. Brown, the bill’s chief sponsor, included the abortion medication exemption not as a backdoor attempt at banning the practice, but rather to align his legislation with the medication abortion ban passed by lawmakers in 2023.

That ban, while on hold, could go into effect if the Wyoming Supreme Court rules it constitutional. The state’s highest court heard arguments on that case in April and is expected to rule later this year. If the justices affirm a lower-court decision that the ban is unconstitutional, then the abortion medication exemption in HB 164 has no effect, Woykovsky argued. He disputed the idea that the new law would discourage providers from prescribing off-label use of the medications.

“As it stands now, there are no laws in place to prohibit the use of off-label drugs for abortions,” he said. “And there should be no chilling effect.”

Judge Campbell listened to about an hour of arguments from both sides. He did not rule at the hearing, but said he would issue a decision as soon as possible given the law will go into effect in just over a week.

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Wyoming

Wyoming Coaches Pick the Best of 1A & 2A Boys Basketball in 2026

Published

4 hours ago

March 11, 2026

Press Room

Wyoming Coaches Pick the Best of 1A & 2A Boys Basketball in 2026

The top boys’ basketball players in Wyoming for Classes 1A and 2A were chosen for the 2026 high school season. The Wyoming Coaches Association has unveiled the all-state awards for this year, as voted on by the head coaches in the two classifications, respectively. The Wyoming Coaches Association only recognizes one team for all-state, and only these players receive an award certificate from the WCA. WyoPreps only lists all-state players as defined by the WCA.

WCA 1A-2A BOYS BASKETBALL ALL-STATE SELECTIONS IN 2026

Each class selected 14 players for all-state, reflecting a broad recognition of talent across Wyoming. Notably, congratulations go to Hulett’s Kyle Smith, Brady Cook from Lingle-Fort Laramie, and Carsten Freeburg from Pine Bluffs, who earned all-state honors for the third straight year. In addition, eight more players achieved all-state status for the second time in their prep careers.

Class 1A

Paul McNiven – Burlington

Bitner Philpott – Burlington

Ammon Hatch – Cokeville (All-State in 2025)

Hudson Himmerich – Cokeville

Kyle Smith – Hulett (All-State 2024 & 2025)

Anthony Arnusch – Lingle-Ft. Laramie

Brady Cook – Lingle-Ft. Laramie (All-State 2024 & 2025)

Tymber Cozzens – Little Snake River (All-State in 2025)

Corbin Matthews – Lusk

Max Potas – Meeteetse (All-State in 2024)

Jace Westring – Saratoga

Hazen Williams – Saratoga

TJ Moats – Southeast (All-State in 2024)

Nic Schiller – Upton

Read More Boys Basketball News from WyoPreps

WyoPreps 1A-2A State Basketball Scoreboard 2026

WyoPreps 3A-4A Regional Basketball Scoreboard 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Final Basketball Poll 2026

1A-2A Boys Basketball Regional Scoreboard 2026

WyoPreps Boys Basketball Week 11 Scores 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-25-26

WyoPreps Boys Basketball Week 10 Scores 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-18-26

WyoPreps Boys Basketball Week 9 Scores 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-11-26

WyoPreps Boys Basketball Week 8 Scores 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-4-26

Class 2A

Caleb Adsit – Big Horn

Chase Garber – Big Horn

Carsten Freeburg – Pine Bluffs (All-State 2024 & 2025)

Mason Moss – Rocky Mountain

Oakley Hicks – Shoshoni

Kade Mills – Sundance

Cody Bomengen – Thermopolis (All-State in 2025)

Zak Hastie – Thermopolis

Ellis Webber – Thermopolis (All-State in 2025)

Joseph Kimbrell – Wright

Mitchell Strohschein – Wright (All-State in 2025)

Adriano Brown – Wyoming Indian

Heeyei’Niitou Monroe-Black – Wyoming Indian (All-State in 2025)

Cordell Spoonhunter – Wyoming Indian

The 2026 state champions were the Saratoga Panthers in Class 1A. They beat Lingle-Fort Laramie, 50-45, in the championship game. The 2A winners were the Thermopolis Bobcats, who repeated as champions, after a 45-38 victory over Wyoming Indian in the title game.

Lusk versus Rock River high school basketball 2026

Game action between the Tigers and Longhorns

Gallery Credit: Courtesy: Lisa Shaw

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Wyoming

New laws establish a statewide literacy program

Published

16 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

New laws establish a statewide literacy program

A pair of bills signed into law last week aim to build out a more comprehensive system of literacy education across Wyoming’s public schools.

One mandates evidence-based practices and requires regular screenings for dyslexia, while the other enables the Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) to hire a dedicated literacy professional to oversee statewide compliance.

Gov. Mark Gordon’s signing of both bills on Friday was the latest accomplishment of an ongoing push for improved literacy standards. That push has been spearheaded by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder.

“Wyoming is not going to let a single child fall through the cracks,” Degenfelder said during a public bill signing last week. “We are not going to fall behind when it comes to ensuring that our children can read at grade level.”

The primary bill, Senate File 59, establishes a statewide K-12 program for teaching students to read that is built on “evidence based language and literacy instruction, assessment, intervention and professional development that supports educators, engages families and promotes literacy proficiency for all Wyoming students.”

The bill defines evidence-based strategies as those that conform to the science of reading, a term that will be defined and updated by Degenfelder’s office. Nationwide, it generally means putting academic research into practice in classrooms. SF 59 specifically prohibits the exclusive use of “three-cueing” — a strategy once widely employed to teach reading but which education experts now say is outdated and less effective than other strategies.

It also requires annual dyslexia screeners for students below the third grade, and testing for reading difficulties for all students.

The screeners are used to identify the severity of reading difficulties in order to direct “tiered” support that offers the most intensive interventions to the students most in need, while still providing “evidence based” language instruction to all students.

Each school district must formulate an individualized reading plan “for each student identified as having reading difficulties or at risk for poor reading outcomes.”

Districts must now report to the state annually regarding their literacy-related work. Any district where 60% or more of the students are struggling will be required to implement “summer literacy camps or extended supports, including after school support and tutoring.”

The bill also requires literacy related professional development for teachers and specialists “appropriate to their role and level of responsibility” related to literacy education.

SF 59 was backed by dyslexia advocates and literacy specialists.

Senate File 14, the other literacy bill signed into law Friday, appropriates $120,000 annually for the next two years for a full-time position at WDE “to assist school districts in implementing a reading assessment and intervention program and language and literacy programs.”

Both bills go into effect July 1.

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Wyoming

Wyoming Announces 2026 Football Schedule – SweetwaterNOW

Published

1 day ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Wyoming Announces 2026 Football Schedule

Samuel “Tote” Harris. Photo from gowyo.com

LARAMIE — The University of Wyoming and the Mountain West Conference announced the Cowboys’ 2026 football schedule Monday, a slate that opens with the Border War and concludes with back-to-back home games in Laramie.

Wyoming opens the season Sept. 5 on the road against Colorado State in the 118th edition of the Border War. The Cowboys then host Northern Colorado on Sept. 12 in the home opener before traveling to Central Michigan on Sept. 19.

The Cowboys begin Mountain West play Sept. 26 at home against Hawaii in a matchup for the Paniolo Trophy. Wyoming then faces back-to-back road games at North Dakota State on Oct. 3 and San Jose State on Oct. 10.

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Wyoming returns to War Memorial Stadium on Oct. 17 to host conference newcomer Northern Illinois before facing Air Force at home on Oct. 24. The Cowboys will have an open week on Oct. 31.

The Cowboys open November with road games at UNLV on Nov. 7 and at UTEP on Nov. 14, marking Wyoming’s first meeting with the Miners as members of the Mountain West. Wyoming closes conference play by hosting New Mexico on Nov. 21 and wraps up the regular season with a nonconference game against UConn on Nov. 28 in Laramie.

Each Mountain West team will play four home and four road conference games during the 13-week season, which will conclude with the Mountain West Football Championship Game featuring the two teams with the highest conference winning percentages. The championship game date will be announced later.

With the conference schedule set, Mountain West television partners CBS Sports, FOX Sports, and The CW will begin selecting broadcast games, which could include moving some contests to non-Saturday dates. Network assignments and kickoff times will be announced at a later date.

Season ticket renewals for the 2026 Wyoming football season are now available. Fans can renew their tickets online by visiting gowyo.com/tickets and logging into their account.

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