After the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, Wyoming became the first state to restrict abortion drugs when Gov. Mark Gordon (R) signed a legislation into effect on Friday.
According to the “Prohibiting Chemical Abortions” law, any doctor or individual who disperses prescribes, or otherwise delivers abortion pills risks a possible six-month prison sentence as well as a fine of up to $9,000. Criminal charges cannot be brought against women who carry out or attempt chemical abortions.
“The purpose of SF 109,” according to the bill’s sponsor state Senator Tim Salazar, “is to safeguard the unborn against substances that aim to end human life. By approving this legislation, Wyoming will be making it plain that we intend to protect women and the unborn from these harmful medicines that are utilized in the murder of an unborn child through abortion.”
Mifepristone, the first drug in a two-pill abortion regimen, is used for well over half of all abortions in the United States, according to research by the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute. Up from 39% in 2017, medication was responsible for 53% of all abortions in 2020.
In his videos about various abortion techniques, former abortionist Dr. Anthony Levatino described how drug-induced abortions function. The activity of progesterone, which the mother’s body generates to support the pregnancy, is blocked by the first medication, mifepristone. When progesterone is inhibited, the uterine lining deteriorates, the developing baby is deprived of blood and nutrients, and the infant eventually perishes inside the mother’s womb. The second medication, misoprostol (commonly known as Cytotec), subsequently induces bleeding and contractions to help the baby exit the mother’s uterus.
Abortion pills are already prohibited in 13 jurisdictions that “have a blanket prohibition on all kinds of abortion,” and 15 states that “have limited access” to them. Yet, the Associated Press noted that up until this point, no state had approved a law explicitly forbidding the use of abortion drugs.
