Nov. 19 (UPI) — A county district judge in Wyoming blocked two state laws that limited abortion access, ruling that they violated the state’s constitution.
Teton County Judge Melissa Owens said the laws — Wyoming’s Life Act and the Medication Abortion Ban — violated a woman’s personal autonomy in making her own medical decisions.
In her ruling, Owens said that Wyoming state legislators had “enacted laws that impede the fundamental right to make health care decisions for an entire class of people, pregnant women.”
She went on to describe the laws, which restrict abortions at the earliest stages of development, did not distinguish between pre-viable and viable fetuses, imposing “unreasonable and unnecessary” restrictions.
Owens had already blocked the laws from going into effect after they were passed last year while court cases challenging the provisions played out in court. The laws are permanently banned, but the state is expected to appeal to the Wyoming Supreme Court.
Jay Jerde, a state special assistant attorney general, told the court last year that Wyoming’s constitutional amendment does not apply to abortions but addresses women’s health in illness. Jerde said the woman is making decisions about her health and the health of the fetus.
But Owens rejected the premise, saying that the “uncontested facts establish that the abortion statutes fail to accomplish any of the asserted interests by the state.
“The state did not present any evidence refuting or challenging the extensive medical testimony presented by the plaintiffs,” she said.
TETON COUNTY, Wyo. — The Wyoming Department of Health recently confirmed two additional cases of measles in Teton County, bringing the statewide total to six cases, with five cases having occurred in Teton County.
A release from the WDH states that one recently-confirmed case is an adult with no identified links to the previous three Teton County cases, while the other case is also an adult, who had direct exposure to a previously identified case.
“This underscores the highly contagious nature of the measles virus,” the release states.
According to the release, the public may have been exposed to measles at the following locations and times:
Target Jackson Hole, 510 S Highway 89, Jackson, Wyoming 83001
Smith’s Food and Drug, 1425 South Highway 89, Jackson, Wyoming 83001
“Measles is very contagious and can cause serious illness, including pneumonia, encephalitis, hospitalization, and death,” the release states. “Vaccination is the best way to prevent measles infection.”
For more information on measles, including case counts, exposure locations, and guidance on what to do if exposed, visit the Wyoming Department of Health website.
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