Lawmakers in both the Wyoming House and Senate passed a bill last week that will require abortion facilities to meet the same facility regulations as ambulatory surgical centers, as well as provide regulations that a woman receive an ultrasound 48 hours before any abortion procedure.
House Bill 148 requires abortion facilities to become licensed ambulatory surgical centers as well as have hospital admitting privileges at a hospital located within a 10-mile radius. Abortionists must also be licensed physicians. An amendment added to the bill further adds the ultrasound and waiting period requirement, which states that 48 hours before any abortion, including a chemical abortion, the physician “shall ensure that the pregnant woman receives an ultrasound in order to determine the gestational age of the unborn child, to determine the location of the pregnancy, to verify a viable intrauterine pregnancy and to provide the pregnant woman the opportunity to view the active ultrasound of the unborn child and hear the heartbeat of the unborn child if the heartbeat is audible.”
The bill’s sponsor, Representative Martha Lawley, said that the safety of women was foremost in her mind when drafting the bill. “I was focusing on the fact that we really weren’t regulating surgical abortions in particular, or even chemical abortions,” Lawley said. “While it is legal in Wyoming, we need to look at the safety of women that are choosing abortions.”
Chemical abortions pose a particular risk to women, especially when the abortion pill is distributed without verifying the preborn child’s gestational age, and whether or not the woman has an ectopic pregnancy. This legislation aims to mitigate some of those risks.
“This is dealing with basic patient safety,” added Senator Brian Boner during floor debate. “Health care is highly regulated throughout this state and this country.”
As Live Action News previously reported, the state’s only surgical abortion facility, Wellspring Health Access, has said that these regulations could shutter its doors, at least for a time.
Governor Mark Gordon is expected to sign the bill into law by the end of March.
