Wyoming
Wyoming’s new six-week abortion ban prompts lawsuit
Wyoming’s Republican-dominated legislature passed a six-week abortion ban this week, prompting a new lawsuit and some lawmakers to call it “an insult to voters and our institution”.
Mark Gordon, Wyoming’s governor, signed the bill while simultaneously warning of its constitutional hurdles, noting that prior abortion bans were struck down by the state’s all Republican-appointed supreme court this January. Almost immediately, an identical set of plaintiffs filed suit against the new bill.
This bill effectively makes abortion illegal after six weeks of pregnancy, a time when many women have not yet learned that they are pregnant. Any person violating the law would face a felony punishable by prison sentence of up to five years.
Earlier abortion bans, including the US’s first proposed ban on abortion pills, were previously tossed out by the Wyoming supreme court – which cited Wyoming’s constitutional guarantee that adults can make their own healthcare decisions. Democratic representative Mike Yin views this now annual cycle of abortion bans as “both an insult to voters and our institution”, and doesn’t think the new bill holds much water.
Yin said: “I don’t see why the court would see this ban any different than a full ban.”
The bill’s main sponsor, Republican speaker of the house Chip Neiman, said on the house floor that he was not troubled by the bill’s legal complications. Instead, he argued that legislators had a moral obligation to further anti-abortion legislation.
“I know a lot of folks get out there and get all shook up about how we’re creating legislation that gets tied up in court,” Neiman said. “But I’ll tell you what, the only person that gets broke down is the person that doesn’t do anything.”
Neiman did not respond to requests for comment from the Guardian.
The legislate-then-litigate cycle is extensive enough that the new challenge has been filed as an amendment to an ongoing suit against prior abortion bans. Katie Knutter, executive director at Wellspring Health Access, one of the plaintiffs and the state’s only functioning procedural abortion clinic, noted that the bill will pause services at her clinic. She also said that between a previous legislative pause and the clinic surviving an arson attack, Wellspring is used to navigating chaos.
“This is what happens when you fight for abortion care in more politically conservative, hostile-to-abortion-access states,” Knutter said, adding that given Wyoming’s vast rural geography, their average patient travels 250 miles to receive care, and roughly a third are from out of state.
Kimya Forouzan, principal state policy advisor at the Guttmacher Institute, pointed out that the bill’s use of fetal personhood, the belief that embryos and fetuses deserve the legal rights and protection afforded to people, matches national trends.
“We really have seen it come up more and more, and be tied very directly towards criminal penalties,” Forouzan said.
The Wyoming legislature’s annual mill of abortion bills has seen state politicians follow a plethora of other legislative trends. This includes a bill currently held up in court, mandating a transvaginal ultrasound and a 48-hour waiting period; another would require prohibitively expensive retrofitting or relocations of abortion clinics to meet the requirements of ambulatory surgery centers.
The state’s constitutional right to individual healthcare decisions, and the courts’ interpretation of it, has been a thorn in the side of this legislation. A failed 2025 bill that sought to redefine healthcare, and if passed as originally written, would have outlawed chemotherapy.
Republican representative Rachel Rodriguez-Williams, frustrated with the supreme court’s abortion ruling, unsuccessfully tried to block additional security funding for courts across the state.
“If this branch of government has a vested interest in protecting your life, why does it suddenly lose that interest when the life in question comes to the unborn?” Rodriguez-Williams said on the house floor. Rodriguez-Williams, who is also chair of the Wyoming Freedom caucus, did not respond to a request for comment.
There is one path that could put an end to the back-and-forth between the judicial and legislative branches – drafting a constitutional amendment, and putting it as an election year ballot for voters to decide. Data from the University of Wyoming suggested that Wyoming voters might be more friendly to abortion than its legislators. The 2026 legislature saw one failed attempt to do so, but without mentioning abortion. Instead, it floated a measure that would let the legislature determine the definition of healthcare.
Republican representative Daniel Singh, one of the heartbeat bill’s co-sponsors, has grown weary of this fight. He hopes for a future amendment so that the abortion issue will be settled, once and for all, by Wyoming voters.
“I’m more of a trap shooter and not a tennis player,” Singh said. “And so I’d like to just get this thing finished and sorted out.”
The annual Wyoming-Montana All-Star basketball series celebrates its 50th anniversary this summer. The State of Wyoming released its rosters for the 2026 event, which is on Friday, June 12, at the Pronghorn Center in Gillette. The series will move to Lockwood High School in Billings, MT, on Saturday, June 13. The girls’ games will start at 5 p.m., followed by the boys’ games at 7 p.m. both nights.
WYOMING ALL-STAR BASKETBALL PLAYERS 2026
This year is the 50th for the boys’ series and the 29th for the annual girls’ series. They did not play in 2020. The Wyoming girls broke a 16-game losing streak against Montana in 2025 after an 81-75 victory in Billings. Montana holds a 42-14 advantage in the series. In the boys’ series, Montana swept the Wyoming boys last summer, 102-90 and 98-73. They lead the all-time series, 69-29.
The Wyoming girls’ squad is highlighted by all-state award winners and five college commitments. The boys’ roster features players who earned multiple all-state honors, and four players have already committed to playing basketball at the collegiate level.
As the 50th anniversary approaches, organizers are preparing a series of commemorative events to celebrate the legacy of this historic rivalry and showcase the incredible talent of Wyoming’s young basketball stars.
Read More Boys Basketball News from WyoPreps
Wyoming-Montana All-Star Basketball Series Girls Recap 2025
Wyoming-Montana All-Star Basketball Series Boys Recap 2025
Wyoming-Montana All-Star Basketball Preview 2025
Wyoming Rosters for Wyoming-Montana All-Star BB Series 2025
WYOMING-MONTANA GIRLS BASKETBALL ALL-STAR GAMES 2024
WYOMING GIRLS ALL-STAR BASKETBALL GAME INTERVIEWS 2024
WYOMING-MONTANA BOYS BASKETBALL ALL-STAR GAMES 2024
WYOMING BOYS ALL-STAR BASKETBALL GAME INTERVIEWS 2024
WYOMING-MONTANA ALL-STAR BASKETBALL PREVIEW 2024
3A-4A Wyoming HS Girls Basketball All-State 2026
3A-4A Wyoming HS Boys Basketball All-State 2026
1A-2A Wyoming HS Boys Basketball All-State 2026
3A-4A Wyoming HS Boys Basketball All-Conference 2026
1A-2A Wyoming HS Boys Basketball All-Conference 2026
3A-4A Wyoming HS Girls Basketball All-Conference Players in 2026
1A-2A Wyoming HS Girls Basketball All-Conference Players in 2026
WyoPreps 3A-4A Girls State Basketball Scoreboard 2026
WyoPreps 1A-2A Girls State Basketball Scoreboard 2026
WyoPreps 3A-4A State Basketball Scoreboard 2026
WyoPreps 1A-2A State Basketball Scoreboard 2026
The 2026 rosters feature 10 girls and 10 boys
Wyoming Girls Roster:
Elizabeth Needham – Cheyenne Central (signed with LCCC for basketball)
Cashlynn Haws – Cheyenne East (will serve a mission in the Philippines)
Sydney Simone – Cody (signed with Carroll College for volleyball)
Erica Wilson – Pinedale (signed with Northwest College for basketball)
Camryn Wagner – Sheridan (attending Univ. of Utah)
Jaylin Mills – Sundance (signed with Northwest College – basketball & volleyball)
Ashtyn Ketchum – Thunder Basin (attending UW)
Reece McGrath – Thunder Basin (attending UW)
Addy Rouse – Thunder Basin (attending Nova Southeastern Univ.)
Chaney Reish – Tongue River (signed with Northwest College – basketball & volleyball)
Wyoming Boys Roster:
Jack Andela – Campbell County (signed at Carroll College for basketball)
Collin Roberts – Douglas (signed with Northwest College for basketball)
Carter Alvar – Kelly Walsh
Mason Eager – Kelly Walsh
Owen Walker – Lovell (serving a mission)
Gavin Patik – Natrona County
Nate Miner – Sheridan (signed with Rocky Mountain College)
Cooper Lancaster – Star Valley
Cody Bomengen – Thermopolis (signed at Gillette College)
Trypp Burtsfield – Thunder Basin
Six of the eight state championship teams during the 2026 high school season are represented on the girls’ and boys’ teams. On the girls’ roster, 4A champ Cheyenne East, 3A champ Cody, and 2A champ Sundance have players involved. For the boys, it’s 4A champ Sheridan, 3A winner Lovell, and 2A champ Thermopolis.
Nine of the 10 Wyoming girls selected earned all-state awards during the 2026 high school season, and four of them will be playing collegiate basketball this fall. One will be playing volleyball. Eight of the ten Wyoming boys chosen also received all-state honors earlier this year. One more was named all-conference.
Wyoming’s head coaches in 2026 are Liz Lewis (Women’s Team) and Shawn Neary (Men’s Team). They are the current head coaches at Gillette College. Lewis led the Pronghorns to a 24-11 record in the 2025-26 season. They won the Region IX Women’s Basketball Postseason Tournament and reached the NJCAA DI Women’s Basketball Championship Tournament. Neary guided the Gillette men to a 13-15 record in the 2026 season.
Wyoming-Montana Girls All-Star Basketball
Wyoming-Montana Girls All-Star Basketball
Gallery Credit: Frank Gambino
Wyoming-Montana Boys All-Star Basketball
Wyoming-Montana Boys All-Star Basketball
Gallery Credit: Frank Gambino
Australia-based American Rare Earths, which operates a US subsidiary called Wyoming Rare, has advanced the pilot plant program for its Halleck Creek Project in Wyoming to produce a high-purity separated rare earth oxide.
The company has signed agreements for initial processing to be done in Wyoming through Western Research Institute in Laramie and DISA Technologies in Casper, followed by a final stage of hydrometallurgical processing and oxide separation at the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) in Saskatoon, Canada.
The pilot plant program has been structured in three stages. The first two stages, milling and sizing followed by mineral separation and concentration, will take place in Wyoming. SRC will handle leaching, impurity removal and oxide refining in the third stage.
This will allow the front end of the pilot plant processing to stay in Wyoming, as it will process ore that has already been extracted from the American Rare Earths Halleck Creek site and stockpiled in Laramie. It will then leverage the downstream facility at SRC to accelerate production, the company said.
The pilot plant will use DISA’s patented high-pressure slurry ablation (HPSA) technology to handle coarser particle sizes and then use the GradePro reflux classifier and induced roll magnetic separators to perform primary mineral separation and secondary concentration.
The SRC facility has a similar process configuration to the type of downstream processing facility American Rare Earths intends to build in Wyoming. The company will use the data generated during the pilot campaign to further develop its plans for the commercial plant and mine.
“The pilot plant and production of pre-production rare earth oxide were previously expected to take several years. This defined pilot pathway now materially shortens the timeline and positions the Company to deliver outcomes within months,” said Mark Wall, CEO of American Rare Earths.
Source: American Rare Earths
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