A bill making its way through the Wyoming legislature could cause the state’s only surgical abortion business to shut its doors for a time.
House Bill 148 would require that surgical abortion facilities be licensed as ambulatory surgical centers. It would also require that abortionists be licensed physicians. Violators could face a felony charge and one to 14 years in prison. On Monday, the bill passed the House Judiciary Committee with a vote of 7 to two; it now will appear before the House Committee of the Whole.
The bill is being sponsored by Representative Martha Lawley (R-Worland), who wants to ensure that abortion facilities have the same standards as other surgical faciliites. “We still have an obligation and need to protect the health and safety of women,” said Lawley.
Surgical abortion procedures include the first-trimester suction abortion, also know as dilation and curettage (D&C), and the second-trimester dilation and evacuation (D&E). These abortion procedures pose numerous risks to women, including injuries to the uterus or cervix, along with the intestines, bladder, and nearby blood vessels. Women are also at risk of hemorrhage, infection, and death. Just last month, an Australian woman died from a first-trimester surgical abortion procedure.
Currently, there is only one surgical abortion facility in the entire state, Wellspring Health Access in Casper.
“I firmly believe we would have to close down for some amount of time,” said Julie Burkhart, Wellspring’s founder. “It’s clearly a ploy to make sure that abortion services are not provided in Wyoming.”
Burkhart was mentored by the notorious late abortionist, George Tiller. She owns abortion facilities around the country; some of which, like the Hope Clinic for Women in Illinois, have been responsible for injuring numerous women.
Wyoming lawmakers had previously passed a law protecting nearly all preborn children in the state from abortion, though that law was challenged by abortionists and subsequently blocked by the court. Though a judge heard arguments related to the law in December, she has not yet issued a ruling as to whether or not the law can stand.
