As the first US state
Wyoming bans abortion pills
3/18/2023 8:41 am
A combination of two drugs is the most common form of abortion in the United States. Wyoming is the first state to criminalize prescription pills. Violations can result in imprisonment for up to six months.
Wyoming became the first US state to ban the use or prescription of medicated abortion pills. This is reported by the British newspaper “Guardian”. Republican Governor Mark Gordon signed a bill to that effect. Accordingly, it is illegal “to prescribe, dispense, distribute, sell, or use any drug to induce or perform an abortion.”
The so-called “morning after pill” is exempt from the ban. This is taken after intercourse but before pregnancy is diagnosed. Also excluded are treatments that are necessary to protect a woman “from an imminent danger that seriously endangers her life or health”. The treatment of a “natural miscarriage according to the currently recognized medical guidelines” remains permitted.
Violation of the ban by doctors or others is punishable by up to six months in prison and a fine of up to $9,000. According to the New York Times, the patient herself is exempt from criminal prosecution. A combination of two drugs, including the abortion pill mifepristone, is the most common form of abortion in the United States.
Ever since the US Supreme Court overturned the landmark ruling on abortion rights last June, abortions have been a state matter. Texas is also considering a ban on the abortion pill mifepristone.
The director of the non-governmental organization American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in Wyoming, Antonio Serrano, criticized the law. “People’s health and not politics should be the basis for important medical decisions – including the decision to terminate a pregnancy,” he is quoted as saying by the British “Guardian”.