The ruling in the western US state comes as many abortion opponents seek to ban the abortion pill nationwide, following last year’s Supreme Court ruling to bury the right to abortion at the federal level.
Once again masters of their choice in the matter, around fifteen states have since decided to ban all terminations of pregnancy on their soil. Wyoming had very quickly opted for the ban on abortion, a decision then suspended by the judgment of a court. State lawmakers have since crafted an even more restrictive law, to override the court ruling – which makes abortion virtually impossibleregardless of the circumstances, and adding the prohibition of the abortion pill, referred to as “chemical abortion“.
The RU 486 pill, the most widely used for medical termination of pregnancy, was authorized in 2000 by the American Medicines Agency (FDA). Now, pharmacists in Wyoming face six months in prison if they continue to market it.
A decision similar to that of Wyoming is also expected soon in the court of Amarillo (Texas), where an ultraconservative judge could ban mifepristone (RU 486) at the federal level – which would amount to withdrawing it from the market in the whole country. Texas lawmakers are also considering a proposal that would also require state internet providers to block access to sites where these pills are sold by mail order.