Wyoming ACLU Speaks Out Against Passage of Abortion Bill
On Thursday, the Wyoming Senate passed House Bill 92 24-5, legislation that would ban abortion in Wyoming if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade.
Passage of the bill prompted the Wyoming ACLU to speak out about the legislation, as they have done with the bill at other points, along with several other bills.
They have also spoken out against the attempted passage of House Bill 85, which would have made it a crime for a woman to take methamphetamine while pregnant, Senate File 51, which would have banned trans women from participating in female sports, and Senate File 83, which would have prohibited the use of abortion drugs.
All three bills failed, with the latter two not being considered by the House, while House Bill 85 was voted down by the Senate 8-17, with five senators excused.
The Wyoming ACLU claims House Bill 92 improperly delegates legislative power to the executive branch, and Libby Skarin, ACLU of Wyoming campaigns director, said:
"In assigning the executive branch the responsibility of enacting law based upon future hypothetical case outcomes, House Bill 92 is creating a codified, inflexible mandate that lacks clarity."
In a press release, the ACLU said the bill doesn't define what counts as a decision by the supreme court, and that there could be confusion created when or if the Supreme Court rules on Roe v. Wade, as Skarin said:
"It’s clear that some of our lawmakers aren’t concerned about the rights and well-being of pregnant people. If they were, they would expand access to quality reproductive health care instead of restricting it."
Senator Cale Case said he had similar issues with the bill, speaking out before final passage that the Supreme Court could issue a variety of rulings on Roe v. Wade, and the bill only accounts for one outcome.