Chelsea's Fund

Chelsea's Fund

Wyoming's Abortion Fund

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We are currently litigating the legality of abortion in Wyoming. As of 03/22/2023, abortion is still legal in Wyoming. See our Providers page for more details.

Abortion’s Legality in Wyoming

We are currently litigating the legality of abortion in Wyoming.

After the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade in June of 2022, Chelsea’s Fund has been involved in litigation to uphold the right to an abortion in Wyoming. In July of 2022, we filed suit to stop the Wyoming abortion ban from taking effect on July 27th. In response the District Court has granted a preliminary injunction blocking Wyoming’s abortion ban from going into effect until they can hear the case. In November of 2022, the District Court referred the case to the Wyoming Supreme Court for decision. In December of 2022, the Wyoming Supreme Court declined to hear the case.

In March of 2023, the Wyoming legislature passed a new statewide abortion ban that repeals and replaces the ban our existing lawsuit contested. Governor Gordon allowed this new ban to pass into law in March 18th, 2023. This action again rendered abortion illegal in Wyoming. In response, we filed a new lawsuit seeking to overturn this ban, as well as a request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) blocking the ban until a court can rule on our case. On March 22nd, 2023, our TRO request was granted, allowing abortion to remain legal in Wyoming until the court can hear our case. We are awaiting the District Court’s next steps in the case.

Timeline

  • June 24th, 2022 – SCOTUS releases Dobb’s decision, overturning Roe v. Wade.
  • July 25th, 2022 – Chelsea’s Fund and other plaintiffs file suit to prevent Wyoming’s abortion ban from going into effect on July 27th.
  • July 28th, 2022 – District Court temporarily blocks abortion ban to give court time to consider our lawsuit.
  • August 10th, 2022 – District Court grants preliminary injunction blocking abortion ban until the case can be decided.
  • November 30th, 2022 – District Court denies petition from Wyoming Right to Life to intervene in the case.
  • November 30th, 2022 – District Court refers the case to the Wyoming Supreme Court.
  • December 20th, 2022 – Wyoming Supreme Court declines to hear the case at this time.
  • December 29th, 2022 – Wyoming Right to Life files an appeal of their denied motion to intervene.
  • March 17th, 2023 – In anticipation of a new Wyoming abortion ban that would override our existing lawsuit, Chelsea’s Fund and other plaintiffs file a new complaint contesting the legality of the new ban. We also filed a request for a temporary restraining order blocking the new ban until a court can rule on the merits of our lawsuit.
  • March 18th, 2023 – Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon allows a new abortion ban in the state to become law, making abortion immediately illegal in Wyoming. The governor also signed a ban on the use of medication abortion that will take effect on July 1st, 2023.
  • March 22nd, 2023 – Judge Owens grants Chelsea’s Fund’s request for a temporary restraining order blocking the enforcement of Wyoming’s new abortion ban until our case can be heard.
  • May 10th, 2023 – Chelsea’s Fund and other plaintiffs submit a motion for a temporary restraining order blocking the enforcement of the medication abortion ban slated to take effect on July 1st, 2023. Chelsea’s Fund et al. also submitted a memorandum of support outlining our arguments for not enforcing the pending ban.
  • May 25th, 2023 – The State of Wyoming files their response to our request for a TRO.