Wyoming Judge Clears The Way For Abortion Clinic To Resume Services
Wyoming Health Access in Casper stopped providing abortion services on Feb. 28, after Republican Gov. Mark Gordon put licensing and ultrasound requirement laws into effect. Abortions again will be provided while the cases wind through the courts.
AP:
Abortions Are Resuming At A Wyoming Clinic After Judge Suspends Laws
Wyoming’s only abortion clinic is resuming abortions after a judge on Monday suspended two state laws. One suspended law would require clinics providing surgical abortions to be licensed as outpatient surgical centers. The other would require women to get an ultrasound before a medication abortion. Wyoming Health Access in Casper had stopped providing abortions Feb. 28, the day after Republican Gov. Mark Gordon signed the licensing requirement into effect. (Gruver, 4/21)
More abortion news from Virginia, Montana, Oklahoma, and Idaho —
Axios:
Virginia Sees Nation's Largest Spike In Abortions
Virginia had the greatest increase in clinician-provided abortions nationwide last year, according to a new analysis. It's the latest data to show just how much the limited abortion access in the South has impacted the only Southern state without a post-Roe abortion ban or waiting period. By the numbers: The number of clinician-provided abortions in Virginia jumped from about 33,400 in 2023 to nearly 39,000 last year, per data compiled by Guttmacher, a research group that supports reproductive rights. That's the biggest spike of any state in the country. (Moreno, 4/21)
Daily Montanan:
'Personhood' For Embryos Fails, Other Abortion Bills Head To Governor's Desk
Voters in Montana won’t see a proposed constitutional amendment to confer “personhood” rights on embryos, but a couple of other bills related to abortion are headed to the desk of Gov. Greg Gianforte. Last week, House Bill 316 sponsored by Rep. Lee Deming, R-Laurel, failed to earn the minimum 100 votes out of 150 in the Montana Legislature needed to present a constitutional amendment to voters. (Szpaller, 4/21)
Oklahoma Voice:
Panel Advances Bill Banning Delivery Of Abortion-Inducing Drugs In Oklahoma
A Senate panel on Monday advanced a measure to prevent the use of popular abortion-inducing drugs, including mifepristone. House Bill 1168 makes it a felony to intentionally deliver abortion-inducing drugs in the state. “We are stopping the pill from the abortion side of this just because of the damage it does to an unborn person, primarily, but also because of the damage it does to women and mothers,” said Sen. David Bullard, R-Durant, the Senate author of the measure. Abortion in Oklahoma is already illegal, except to save the life of the mother. (Hoberock, 4/21)
InvestigateWest:
Under Idaho’s Abortion Ban, A Family Confronts Life-Or-Death Reality — And A Crisis Of Faith
Desi Ballis didn’t understand why her doctor needed her to go to Utah. She lay on an exam table in Boise, her pregnant belly wet with ultrasound gel. At 38, she’d done various genetic tests that confirmed her baby was developing normally. Its small features looked perfect on the screen. But her baby wasn’t getting enough oxygen. Her 20-week ultrasound in February 2024 showed findings of hydrops fetalis, an often lethal condition where fluid builds up in the fetus’ body, according to Desi’s medical records. Her baby would almost certainly die before delivery. If she remained pregnant, Desi risked dying, too. She remembers the tears in the ultrasound technician’s eyes as the doctor calmly repeated, “I need you to get to Salt Lake.” It wasn’t until later that day, when the Utah doctor called on her drive home, that Desi learned the blunt truth: She might need an abortion to save her own life. And she would have to leave Idaho to get it. (Turner, 4/19)
In other reproductive health news —
MedPage Today:
Ob/Gyns Mostly Stayed Put After SCOTUS Overturned Roe, Study Finds
In the post-Roe v. Wade era, ob/gyns continued to practice in similar locations as before, according to a descriptive cohort study. From the quarter right before the June 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision through the end of the study in September 2024, 95.8% of ob/gyns remained in states that protect access to abortion, 94.8% remained in states threatening bans, and 94.2% remained in states with abortion bans, reported Becky Staiger, PhD, of the University of California Berkeley, and colleagues. (Robertson, 4/21)
Axios:
OB-GYNs Rethink Prenatal Care Schedules
The professional association for OB-GYNs is recommending a shift in the way prenatal care is delivered, away from a dozen or more office visits to a more individualized approach built around social needs and patient choice. (Bettelheim, 4/21)
KFF Health News:
Fate Of Black Maternal Health Programs Is Unclear Amid Federal Cuts
Eboni Tomasek expected to take home her newborn the day after he was born in a San Jose hospital. But, without explanation, hospital staff said they needed to stay a second night. Then a third. A nurse said her son had jaundice. Then said that he didn’t. She wondered if they had confused her with another African American mother. In any event, why couldn’t she and the baby boy she’d named Ezekiel go home? No one would say. (Cohen, 4/22)
