Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams, (R-Cody), has appealed to the Wyoming Supreme Court to be allowed to intervene in a Teton County District Court case challenging Wyoming’s statute banning abortion.

Rodriguez-Williams was chief sponsor of the “trigger ban” bill that passed the 2022 State Legislature and aimed to trigger a state ban on abortion as soon as the Roe v. Wade decision was overturned, and the Life Is a Human Right Act passed by the 2023 Legislature. She was among four parties denied intervention in Johnson vs. Wyoming, a case filed in state district court in Jackson challenging two abortion bans passed in the 2023 legislative session. The other was a ban on chemical abortions.

The ruling by Judge Melissa Owens of Jackson denying individual intervention said the state’s interest can adequately be represented by state defendants.

Rodriguez-Williams responded that as a sponsor of the Life is Human Right Act and former pregnancy center director, “I am proud to affirm that all life is precious and that women deserve real health care — not dangerous procedures and drugs. We look forward to making our case in the  Wyoming  Supreme Court to protect the health and safety of women, girls and unborn children across the state.”

The Supreme Court has not yet agreed to hear her appeal. Abortion remains legal in Wyoming despite the bills passed by the Legislature.

— Dave Bonner