Causes.com
| 3.20.23
Wyoming Bans Abortion Pill, Texas Judge Considers Nationwide Ban
Should more states ban medication abortion?
Wyoming's decision
- The abortion pill, mifepristone, has been banned in Wyoming days before Texas judge Matthew Kacsmaryk is set to consider ruling on a nationwide ban.
- The bill was passed by the state's Republican-controlled legislature and was signed into law by Republican Gov. Mark Gordon on Friday. It will come into effect on July 1.
- Wyoming's new bill bans the distribution, sale, and prescription of the pill, and violations of the law will be classed as a misdemeanor. It will be punishable by up to six months in jail or a $9,000 fine.
- The measure states that a woman "upon whom a chemical abortion is performed or attempted shall not be criminally prosecuted."
- Gordon also allowed a second bill, the Life is a Human Right Act, to become law without his signature yesterday. It is a sweeping ban on abortion except in limited circumstances like incest, assault, or when the pregnant person's life or the fetus is in danger.
- Violating the Life is a Human Right Act will be punishable by up to five years in prison or a $20,000 fine.
Criticisms
- The Biden administration has been vocal about their opposition to mifepristone bans in court filings, stating that the pill is backed up by robust research.
- Antonio Serrano, from the Wyoming American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said:
"[A] person's health, not politics, should guide important medical decisions - including the decision to have an abortion."
- NARAL Pro-Choice America President Mini Timmaraju said:
“There’s no stone that anti-choice extremists will leave unturned as they seek to do everything they can to ensure that abortion is banned across the nation. This first-of-its-kind ban on medication abortion, as well as the total ban, are just the latest proof.”
Texas considers a national ban
- In Texas, Judge Kacsmaryk, a Trump appointee, is ruling this week on whether mifepristone should be sold in the U.S.
- The lawsuit was filed in November 2022 by a coalition of anti-abortion organizations, The Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine.
- The ruling could have immediate implications for the accessibility of the drug nationwide. According to research by NARAL if the lawsuit rules in favor of the anti-abortion groups, 40 million women of reproductive age would lose access to the drug.
- Activists are concerned because of Kacsmaryk’s record of conservative decisions when comes to abortion and reproductive rights.
Is mifepristone safe?
- Around 98% of medical abortions in the U.S. use mifepristone, combined with misoprostol, and there have been 26 deaths associated with the drug since 2000 - a rate of 0.65 deaths per 100,000 medical abortions.
- For comparison, the mortality rate of chronic aspirin use is around 15.3 deaths per 100,000 aspirin users.
Do you support more states banning the abortion pill?
—Emma Kansiz
(Photo Credit: Canva)
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