Dear editor:
As a statewide reproductive freedom organization, Pro-Choice Wyoming opposes House Bill 64, which would mandate a transvaginal ultrasound and a 48-hour waiting period before a woman can obtain medication for an abortion.
This bill is a thinly veiled attempt to ban abortion in Wyoming. It embodies government overreach at its most intrusive level by interfering with an individual’s right to make his or her own health care decisions.
Wyoming’s constitution explicitly protects the right of every competent adult to make their own health care decisions.
This provision was added by a vote of the people that passed by large favorable majorities in every county.
There is nothing in the broad, explicit language of that constitutional provision that limits its application to the Affordable Care Act.
Article 1, § 38, specifically directs the state of Wyoming to “preserve these rights from undue governmental infringement.” House bill 64 aggressively infringes on a person’s right to make their own health care decisions by forcing individuals to have an invasive transvaginal ultrasound.
There is no other government-mandated medical procedure that so violently assaults a woman’s bodily autonomy.
House Bill 64 also will invite more litigation from individuals and groups who are determined to stand on the Wyoming Constitution and protect their rights.
Our state faces numerous health care issues, not the least of which is the increasing number of maternity deserts where no pre-natal or obstetrical care is available.
Criminalizing doctors and continuing to waste valuable legislative time and the public’s money on attempts to curtail constitutionally-protected rights is a poor use of public resources that would be better put to more pressing needs.
Freedom and independence are at the heart of Wyoming values. Please contact your state senators and ask them to vote no House Bill 64.
Megan Hayes
Pro-Choice Wyoming Board Chair
