Laramie lawmakers join effort to halt abortion rights backslide

Albany and Teton County lawmakers propose “returning to the starting point” with proposed abortion amendments. The bill’s abortion protections enjoy broad popular support in Wyoming.

Democratic state lawmakers are hoping to halt the erosion of abortion rights in Wyoming with a new bill that would explicitly state abortion is legal in cases of rape, incest or when the pregnancy causes life-threatening complications.

House Bill 117 strives not to introduce new ideas to the House floor but to enshrine a limited version of abortion access that was previously protected in Wyoming.

The bill is sponsored by Jackson Rep. Mike Yin (HD-16) and co-sponsored by three of Albany County’s six legislators: Rep. Karlee Provenza (HD-45), Rep. Trey Sherwood (HD-14) and Sen. Chris Rothfuss (SD-9). While the bill does not seek to establish full access to abortion — as many of the bill’s co-sponsors would undoubtedly prefer — it does seek to put a backstop on the eradication of abortion rights following the repeal of Roe v. Wade.

“We're trying to meet folks kind of where we were,” Provenza said. “Let's just make our law constitutional again so that we can then talk about how we improve on this.” 

Demonstrators circle Prexy’s Pasture May 3, 2022 in Laramie. Dozens turned out less than 24 hours after the Supreme Court leak to protest the end of Roe v. Wade. // Photo: Jeff Victor

House Bill 117 is in an effort to bring back abortion protections to areas like Teton County, which abuts surrounding states with similar abortion bans.

“It's more likely that Jackson is more impacted by this legislation than Albany County, where we have the ability to go to Colorado,” Provenza said. 

The bill would also allow state funds to pay for the protected abortion procedures.

For nearly 50 years, the U.S. Supreme Court case known as Roe v. Wade enshrined abortion protections nationwide — effectively prohibiting states from outright banning abortion even if they wanted to. But several states, including Wyoming, passed “trigger bans” — laws that would go into effect and ban abortion upon the overturn of Roe v. Wade.

Then, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, thus activating Wyoming’s “trigger ban.” However, that ban is currently being challenged in the courts, and as that challenge makes its way through various hurdles, abortion remains legal.

“We have a large proportion of Wyoming that is conservative; they are Republicans, and they also believe that women should have a right to choose,” Provenza said. “So (we’re) trying not to bring legislation that is gonna make them feel alienated, but meets them where they were, which was under Roe v. Wade, and I think that's where many people in Wyoming want to get back to and so that should be the starting point.”

Most Wyomingites say abortion should be legal in at least some circumstances. About 36 percent believe it should be a personal choice and therefore fully legal. Another 36 percent believe abortion should be allowed in cases of rape, incest or life-threatening circumstances. Together, at least 72 percent of Wyomingites — and 68 percent of Wyoming Republicans — support abortion being legal under the terms established by House Bill 117.

Only 7 percent of the state believes abortion should be illegal in all circumstances.

“I think we have an uphill battle in front of us,” Provenza said. “At the end of the day, in terms of when we're looking at — the right to choose — the state has the constitutional right of healthcare access, and ultimately I think if one were to try to prohibit (all) abortions, they're gonna have to repeal that section of the constitution, which is incredibly difficult to do.” 

But Provenza said she’s hopeful about House Bill 117, given the broad support for abortion access.

“I don't think that the people of Wyoming are too keen on repealing their right to healthcare access and their right to make decisions over their own bodies,” Provenza said.

House Bill 117 has yet to be assigned to a committee in the Wyoming House of Representatives. Once assigned, there will likely be opportunities for public testimony in favor or against, both in-person and virtually.