On Friday, Republican Gov. Mark Gordon of Wyoming rejected a bill that would impose new restrictions on abortion services in the state Friday, while simultaneously banning sex-change procedures for minors.
NBC News reported that Gordon rejected a bill that would have added new rules for abortion services. It would have mandated clinics providing surgical abortions to get a special license, which could make them more expensive to run. Additionally, women would have been required to receive an ultrasound two days before an abortion to check the fetus’s age and health.
The decision to reject the bill comes as abortion is still legal in Wyoming, as courts review several new laws seeking to ban or restrict the practice. Gordon expressed concerns that changes to the bill could lead to additional legal issues, leading to his decision to reject it.
“The state is closer than ever to a decision on the constitutionality of abortion in Wyoming,” Gordon said in a statement, the outlet reported. “[The bill] had the potential to further delay the resolution of this critical issue for the unborn.”
he vetoed bill specifically targeted Wellspring Health Access, the only full-service abortion clinic in Wyoming, which offers both pill-based and surgical abortions, NBC News stated. Teton County District Judge Melissa Owens had temporarily suspended the laws as she reviews legal challenges brought by Wellspring and additional parties.
Abortion has become something of a divisive issue amongst Republicans, with many Republicans, such as Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, calling for absolute or near-absolute bans on the practice. Many others, however, including former President Donald Trump, have expressed their belief that future abortion laws should allow abortion up through the first trimester, with the exception for rape, incest, and to preserve the life of the mother.
Gordon also signed into law a separate piece of legislation banning sex-change surgeries for minors, which aligns Wyoming with multiple other Republican-led states.
More than 24 states have placed limits or bans on sex-change surgeries for minors, but several of those laws are the subject of legal battles. In Arkansas, a federal court overturned the state’s ban as illegal, and courts have temporarily stopped these bans in Idaho and Montana, according to NBC News.
