Rachel Rodriguez-Williams

In a letter addressed to the Wyoming House Judiciary Committee dated Feb. 19, 2024 the president of Wellspring Health Access in Casper expressed the abortion mill’s opposition to House Bill 148, a bill to regulate surgical abortion centers, and called it a “TRAP BILL” that was not medically justifiable. Regardless of how a person feels about abortion, with the current court injunction legalizing all abortion, Wyoming has the most extreme pro-abortion law in the world with no provision for women’s safety. 

Abortion is not health care, nor is it safe. The end goal of abortion is to electively end the life of an unborn baby. One abortion mill in Wyoming advertises abortion services up to 23.6 weeks. At 23 weeks, a baby can hear sounds outside of the womb, and even begins to learn and prefer her mother’s voice over other voices. She also becomes more active, kicking and squirming. Wyoming women deserve the best health care for BOTH patients. 

Wyoming citizens, through their elected representatives, enacted a measure to ensure that we place a woman and her unborn child’s dignity and safety FIRST. Wyoming citizens, through their elected representatives, enacted a law declaring that life is a human right and that abortion is not health care. 

Because of judicial activism in Teton County, these historic pro-life laws are on pause. House Bill 148, “Regulation of Surgical Abortions,” was made necessary by this activism. 

It is no secret that across our nation, abortion facilities are notorious for ignoring state laws and interpreting them loosely. Had House Bill 148 not been vetoed by the governor, abortion facilities in Wyoming currently open for business would have been required to be licensed through the Department of Health (DOH) as an ambulatory surgical center. 

They would have had to comply with all rules of the DOH concerning the operation and regulation of ambulatory surgical center and submit documentation in a form and frequency required by DOH that demonstrates that the licensed physician has admitting privileges at a hospital located not more than 10 miles from the abortion facility where the licensed physician is performing or will perform surgical abortions. A person cannot get a colonoscopy in Wyoming, except in a surgical center with multiple safeguards in event of an emergency.

Wellspring Health Access testified in writing that, “There is no public health crisis that necessitates further restriction for abortion in Wyoming.” 

I disagree. A facility that electively ends the life of innocent pre-born babies rises to the level of a public health crisis, and should be treated accordingly. 

Unfortunately, Wyoming’s governor vetoed the bill, allowing abortion mills like Wellspring to operate with impunity in our state. 

The decision of Wyoming’s chief executive to veto House Bill 148 allows abortion facilities to run amuck without licensing oversight — heaven forbid an abortion facility had to have been inconvenienced with expanding a hallway, altering the dimensions of a room, changing their HVAC system, or reconfigure their janitorial set-up to deal with innocent fetal remains. 

House Bill 148 passed both chambers overwhelmingly. The veto by the chief executive of Wyoming raises concerns about the need for Wyoming to return to our three branch system of government. But, that’s for a future guest column. 

(Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams serves House District 50 in Park County. She serves as vice chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. She is a member of the House Republican Caucus, the Wyoming Freedom Caucus and the SBA National Pro-Life Women’s Caucus.)