In March of 2024, Wyoming lawmakers passed House Bill 148, Regulation of Abortions, with a simple, commonsense goal: if a facility is performing surgical procedures, it should meet basic health and safety standards.
The bill required abortion clinics to be licensed as ambulatory surgical centers-no more, no less.
Wyoming abortaphiles opposed the legislation, calling it a “TRAP bill”.
Registering as an ambulatory surgical center was reported by one abortion clinic to have to expand their hallways, alter dimensions of procedure rooms, change out HVAC system, reconfigure janitorial setup, and require their physicians to obtain hospital admitting privileges.
The bill was vetoed by Gov. Gordon.
A year later, without fanfare, Gordon allowed that same bill to become law. The abortaphiles quickly filed a lawsuit.
What followed reads less like good governance and more like a cautionary tale.
The Wyoming Supreme Court Chief Justice (a former abortion-activist attorney) assigned a specific judge to the case, in fact, she brought him out of retirement to hear the inevitable challenge.
Within weeks, the law was put on pause. With the stroke of a pen, abortion clinics were once again exempt from oversight.
I’ll leave it up to you to research the judge’s politics and personal stance on abortion.
Today, abortion mills operate without the regulations Wyoming demanded through their representatives and senators.
Meanwhile, birthing centers-places dedicated to bringing life safely and gently into the world are forced to comply with strict Department of Health ambulatory surgical center rules.
This is the upside-down reality Wyoming is left with: fewer protections for women in abortion facilities than in birthing centers that deliver babies. Standards applied selectively are not standards at all.
They are politics disguised as justice.
Common sense safety laws have been blocked, judges are being hand-picked, and accountability is suspended.
The public has the right to ask who the system is really protecting. Because, when the law shields ideology instead of people, something far more important than procedure is being lost.
In this case, the court is failing to protect the most vulnerable population, preborn babies without a voice to speak for themselves. A woman’s womb is now the most dangerous place in Wyoming.
Abortaphiles, some elected and some appointed, are going great lengths to work scandalously behind the scenes to oppose and obstruct common sense regulations and to keep the wheels of the money making machine that kills preborn babies rolling.
Facing a crisis pregnancy? It’s common to feel confused, scared or overwhelmed. Help is available, call the Optionline: 1-800-712-4357 or visit your local pregnancy resource center.
Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams
Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams represents House District 50 in Park County. She is the chairman of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus.
