Judge to weigh suspending Wyoming’s first-in-the-nation ban on abortion pills

By MEAD GRUVER
Associated Press

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A judge is about to consider whether to allow Wyoming’s first-in-the-nation ban on abortion pills to take effect or be put on hold pending the outcome of a lawsuit challenging it. While other states have instituted de facto bans on abortion-inducing medication by outlawing most abortions outright, Wyoming became the first state to ban abortion pills specifically. The new law is scheduled to take effect July 1. Two nonprofits, including an abortion clinic that opened in Casper in April, and four women have sued to challenge the abortion pill ban. Judge Melissa Owens, in Jackson, will hear arguments Thursday about whether to let the abortion pill ban take effect.