Wyoming Acts of the 67th Legislature, General Session (2023)
HB 152, Chapter 184
AN ACT relating to abortion; creating the Life is a Human Right Act; providing findings and purposes; prohibiting abortion; specifying criminal and regulatory penalties and civil remedies; providing exceptions; specifying applicability and severability; making conforming amendments; renumbering current provisions on abortion; repealing and removing obsolete or conflicting provisions; requiring rulemaking; and providing for effective dates.
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
35-6-120. Short title.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Life is a Human Right Act."
35-6-121. Findings and purposes.
(a) The legislature finds that:
(i) As a consequence of an unborn baby being a member of the species homo sapiens from conception, the unborn baby is a member of the human race under article 1, section 2 of the Wyoming constitution;
(ii) The legislature acknowledges that all members of the human race are created equal and are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, the foremost of which is the right to life;
(iii) This act promotes and furthers article 1, section 6 of the Wyoming constitution, which guarantees that no person may be deprived of life or liberty without due process of law;
(iv) Regarding article 1, section 38 of the Wyoming constitution, abortion as defined in this act is not health care. Instead of being health care, abortion is the intentional termination of the life of an unborn baby. It is within the authority of the state of Wyoming to determine reasonable and necessary restrictions upon abortion, including its prohibition. In accordance with Article 1, Section 38(c) of the Wyoming constitution, the legislature determines that the health and general welfare of the people requires the prohibition of abortion as defined in this act;
(v) The legislature, in the exercise of its constitutional duties and powers, has a fundamental duty to provide equal protection for all human lives, including unborn babies from conception;
(vi) Wyoming's "legitimate interests include respect for and preservation of prenatal life at all stages of development; the protection of maternal health and safety; the elimination of particularly gruesome or barbaric medical procedures; the preservation of the integrity of the medical profession; the mitigation of fetal pain; and the prevention of discrimination on the basis of race, sex, or disability." Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Org., 142 S. Ct. 2228, 2284 (2022) (internal citations omitted).
35-6-122. Definitions.
(a) As used in this act:
(i) "Abortion" means the act of using or prescribing any instrument, medicine, drug or any other substance, device or means with the intent to terminate the clinically diagnosable pregnancy of a woman, including the elimination of one (1) or more unborn babies in a multifetal pregnancy, with knowledge that the termination by those means will, with reasonable likelihood, cause the death of the unborn baby. "Abortion" shall not include any use, prescription or means specified in this paragraph if the use, prescription or means are done with the intent to:
(A) Save the life or preserve the health of the unborn baby;
(B) Remove a dead unborn baby caused by spontaneous abortion or intrauterine fetal demise;
(C) Treat a woman for an ectopic pregnancy; or
(D) Treat a woman for cancer or another disease that requires medical treatment which treatment may...
