(a) Whenever it appears that a covered entity has violated or is violating any of the provisions of this article, the affected individual may commence a civil action for injunctive and other relief against the covered entity for purposes of enforcing compliance with this article. The action may be brought in the district court for the county where the affected individual resides or resided or was denied the organ transplant or referral.
(b) In an action brought under this article, the court shall give priority on its docket and expedited review, and may grant injunctive or other relief, including:
(i) Requiring auxiliary aids or services to be made available for a qualified recipient;
(ii) Requiring the modification of a policy, practice or procedure of a covered entity; or
(iii) Requiring facilities be made readily accessible to and usable by a qualified recipient.
(c) Nothing in this article is intended to limit or replace available remedies under the Americans With Disabilities Act, as amended, or any other applicable law.
(a) The legislature finds that:
(i) As a consequence of an unborn baby being a member of the species homo sapiens from conception, the unborn baby is a member of the human race under article 1, section 2 of the Wyoming constitution;
(ii) The legislature acknowledges that all members of the human race are created equal and are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, the foremost of which is the right to life;
(iii) This act promotes and furthers article 1, section 6 of the Wyoming constitution, which guarantees that no person may be deprived of life or liberty without due process of law;
(iv) Regarding article 1, section 38 of the Wyoming constitution, abortion as defined in this act is not health care. Instead of being health care, abortion is the intentional termination of the life of an unborn baby. It is within the authority of the state of Wyoming to determine reasonable and necessary restrictions upon abortion, including its prohibition. In accordance with Article 1, Section 38(c) of the Wyoming constitution, the legislature determines that the health and general welfare of the people requires the prohibition of abortion as defined in this act;
(v) The legislature, in the exercise of its constitutional duties and powers, has a fundamental duty to provide equal protection for all human lives, including unborn babies from conception;
(vi) Wyoming's "legitimate interests include respect for and preservation of prenatal life at all stages of development; the protection of maternal health and safety; the elimination of particularly gruesome or barbaric medical procedures; the preservation of the integrity of the medical profession; the mitigation of fetal pain; and the prevention of discrimination on the basis of race, sex, or disability." Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Org., 142 S. Ct. 2228, 2284 (2022) (internal citations omitted).
(a) As used in this act:
(i) "Abortion" means the act of using or prescribing any instrument, medicine, drug or any other substance, device or means with the intent to terminate the clinically diagnosable pregnancy of a woman, including the elimination of one (1) or more unborn babies in a multifetal pregnancy, with knowledge that the termination by those means will, with reasonable likelihood, cause the death of the unborn baby. "Abortion" shall not include any use, prescription or means specified in this paragraph if the use, prescription or means are done with the intent to:
(A) Save the life or preserve the health of the unborn baby;
(B) Remove a dead unborn baby caused by spontaneous abortion or intrauterine fetal demise;
(C) Treat a woman for an ectopic pregnancy; or
(D) Treat a woman for cancer or another disease that requires medical treatment which treatment may be fatal or harmful to the unborn baby.
(ii) "Pregnant" means the human female reproductive condition of having a living unborn baby or human being within a human female's body throughout the entire embryonic and fetal stages of the unborn human being from fertilization, when a fertilized egg has implanted in the wall of the uterus, to full gestation and childbirth;
(iii) "Reasonable medical judgment" means a medical judgment that would be made by a reasonably prudent physician who is knowledgeable about the case and the treatment possibilities with respect to the medical conditions involved;
(iv) "Unborn baby" or "unborn human being" means an individual living member of the species homo sapiens throughout the entire embryonic and fetal stages from fertilization to full gestation and childbirth;
(v) "Ectopic pregnancy" means a pregnancy that occurs when a fertilized egg implants and grows outside the main cavity of the uterus;
(vi) "Lethal fetal anomaly" means a fetal condition diagnosed before birth and if the pregnancy results in a live birth there is a substantial likelihood of death of the child within hours of the child's birth;
(vii) "Molar pregnancy" means the development of a tumor or cysts that may or may not include placental tissue from trophoblastic cells after fertilization of an egg that results in spontaneous abortion or intrauterine fetal demise;
(viii) "This act" means W.S. 35-6-120 through 35-6-138.
(a) Except as provided in W.S. 35-6-124, no person shall knowingly:
(i) Administer to, prescribe for or sell to any pregnant woman any medicine, drug or other substance with the specific intent of causing or abetting an abortion; or
(ii) Use or employ any instrument, device, means or procedure upon a pregnant woman with the specific intent of causing or abetting an abortion.
35-6-124. Exceptions to abortion prohibition; applicability.
(a) It shall not be a violation of W.S. 35-6-123 for a licensed physician to:
(i) Perform a pre-viability separation procedure necessary in the physician's reasonable medical judgment to prevent the death of the pregnant woman, a substantial risk of death for the pregnant woman because of a physical condition or the serious and permanent impairment of a life-sustaining organ of a pregnant woman, provided that no separation procedure shall be deemed necessary under this paragraph unless the physician makes all reasonable medical efforts under the circumstances to preserve both the life of the pregnant woman and the life of the unborn baby in a manner consistent with reasonable medical judgment;
(ii) Provide medical treatment to a pregnant woman that results in the accidental or unintentional injury to, or the death of, an unborn baby;
(iii) Perform an abortion on a woman when the pregnancy is the result of incest as defined by W.S. 6-4-402 or sexual assault as defined by W.S. 6-2-301. Prior to the performance of any abortion under this paragraph the woman, or the woman's parent or guardian if the woman is a minor or subject to a guardianship, shall report the act of incest or sexual assault to a law enforcement agency and a copy of the report shall be provided to the physician; or
(iv) Perform an abortion on a woman when in the physician's reasonable medical judgment, there is a substantial likelihood that the unborn baby has a lethal fetal anomaly or the pregnancy is determined to be a molar pregnancy.
(b) Nothing in this act shall be construed to prohibit the use, sale, prescription or administration of a contraceptive measure, drug, chemical or device if the contraceptive measure, drug, chemical or device is used, sold, prescribed or administered in accordance with manufacturer instructions and is not used, sold, prescribed or administered with the specific intent to cause or induce an abortion.
(a) Any person who violates W.S. 35-6-123 is guilty of a felony punishable by a fine not to exceed twenty thousand dollars ($20,000.00), imprisonment for not more than five (5) years, or both.
(b) Nothing in this act shall be construed to subject a pregnant woman upon whom any abortion is performed or attempted to any criminal penalty under this act.
35-6-126. Professional sanctions; civil penalties.
(a) In addition to any other penalties available under law, a physician or any other professionally licensed person who intentionally, knowingly or recklessly violates W.S. 35-6-123 commits an act of unprofessional conduct, and the physician's or person's license to practice in Wyoming shall be immediately revoked by the state board of medicine after due process in accordance with the rules and procedures of the state board of medicine. Any person may file a complaint against a physician or other licensed person under this section, or the state board of medicine may on its own accord initiate a complaint against a physician or other licensed person. The state board of medicine may assess or impose the costs of any investigation, fines not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) and any other disciplinary actions authorized by law that the board deems appropriate.
(b) No civil penalty shall be assessed against a pregnant woman upon whom an abortion is performed or attempted for a violation of this act.
(a) In addition to any remedies available under law, failure to comply with this act shall provide the basis for a civil action as provided by this section.
(b) Any pregnant woman upon whom an abortion has been performed, induced or coerced in violation of this act may maintain an action against the person or persons who violated this act for actual and punitive damages. In addition to all other damages and separate and distinct from all damages, a plaintiff prevailing in an action under this section shall be entitled to statutory damages of ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00) for each violation of this act from each defendant for each violation.
(c) A separate and distinct cause of action for injunctive relief against any person who has violated this act to enjoin further violations of this act may be maintained by any of the following:
(i) The woman upon whom an abortion was performed or induced in violation of this act;
(ii) The parent or guardian of the pregnant woman if the woman had not attained eighteen (18) years of age at the time of the abortion or if the woman died as a result of the abortion;
(iii) A district attorney with proper jurisdiction;
(iv) The attorney general.
(d) If judgment is rendered in favor of the plaintiff in a civil action authorized by this section, the plaintiff shall be entitled to receive reasonable costs and attorney fees from the defendant.
It is the intent of the legislature that each provision of this act shall operate with equal force and shall be severable and that, in the event that any provision of this act shall be held invalid or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, the invalid or unenforceable provision shall be deemed severable, and the remaining provisions of this act shall be deemed fully enforceable.
35-6-129. Private institutions not required to perform abortions; no liability for refusal to perform abortion.
No private hospital, clinic, institution or other private facility in this state is required to admit any patient for the purpose of performing an abortion nor to allow the performance of an abortion therein. The private hospital, clinic, institution or any other private facility shall inform any prospective patient seeking an abortion of its policy not to participate in abortion procedures. No cause of action shall arise against any private hospital, clinic, institution or any other private facility for refusing to perform or allow an abortion.
35-6-130. Persons not required to perform abortion; no
civil liability for refusal; sanctions or discrimination for refusal forbidden. No person shall, in any way, be required to perform or participate in any abortion or in any act or thing which accomplishes or performs or assists in accomplishing or performing a human miscarriage, euthanasia or any other death of a human fetus or human embryo. The refusal of any person to do so is not a basis for civil liability to any person. No hospital, governing board or any other person, firm, association or group shall terminate the employment of, alter the position of, prevent or impair the practice or occupation of, or impose any other sanction or otherwise discriminate against any person who refuses to perform or participate in any abortion or in any act or thing which accomplishes, performs or assists in accomplishing or performing a human miscarriage, euthanasia or any other death of a human fetus or embryo.
(a) The state office of vital records services shall establish an abortion reporting form which shall be used after May 27, 1977 for the reporting of every abortion performed or prescribed in this state. The form shall include the following items in addition to the information necessary to complete the form subject to subsection (b) of this section:
(i) The age of the pregnant woman;
(ii) The type of procedure performed or prescribed;
(iii) Complications, if any;
(iv) A summary of the pregnant woman's obstetrical history regarding previous pregnancies, abortions and live births;
(v) The length and weight of the aborted fetus or embryo, when measurable or the gestational age of the aborted fetus or embryo in completed weeks at the time of abortion;
(vi) Type of facility where the abortion is performed (i.e., hospital, clinic, physician's office, or other).
(b) In addition to the requirements provided in subsection
(a) of this section, the form shall not contain the name or the address of the pregnant woman or any other common identifiers including a social security number, driver's license number or any other information or identifier that would tend to disclose the identity of the pregnant woman or any other participant other than the reporting physician.
(c) The form shall be completed by the attending physician and submitted to the state health officer as defined in W.S. 9-2-103(e) within twenty (20) days after the abortion is performed. A physician who fails to submit a form under this section within one hundred ten (110) days after an abortion is performed shall be reported to the board of medicine by the state health officer. The board of medicine shall investigate the matter and may take disciplinary action under W.S. 33-26-402(a)(x).
(d) Termination of a pregnancy by natural miscarriage or as a treatment consequence of a natural miscarriage shall not be reported as an abortion pursuant to this section, provided that the miscarriage was not induced with the intent of terminating the pregnancy. An alleged miscarriage that was induced with the intent of terminating a pregnancy shall be reported as an abortion pursuant to this section.
35-6-132. Compilations of abortions; matter of record; exception.
(a) The state office of vital records services shall prepare and keep on file for seven (7) years compilations of the information submitted on the abortion reporting forms. The compilations shall be available as provided in this section. The state health officer, in order to maintain and keep such compilations current, shall file with the reports any new or amended information. The information submitted under W.S. 35-6-131 and compiled under this section, except the report required under subsection (c) of this section, shall not be stored in any computer.
(b) An abortion reporting form received under W.S. 35-6-131 shall be maintained in strict confidence by the state office of vital records services, shall not be a public record and shall not be made available except to the attorney general or a district attorney with appropriate jurisdiction pursuant to a criminal investigation or to the state board of medicine pursuant to an investigation. The attorney general or a district attorney receiving an abortion form pursuant to this subsection shall keep the form and information from the form confidential except as may be required by law for a criminal prosecution. The state board of medicine receiving an abortion form pursuant to this subsection shall keep the form and information from the form confidential except as may be required by law to determine or enforce an action regarding licensure.
(c) Not later than June 30 of each year the office of vital records services shall issue a public report providing summary statistics for the previous calendar year compiled from all of the abortion reporting forms from that year submitted in accordance with this section for each of the items listed in W.S. 35-6-131. The report shall also include the statistics for all previous calendar years during which this subsection was in effect, adjusted to reflect any additional information from late or corrected reports. The office shall ensure that no information included in the public reports could reasonably lead to the identification of any woman upon whom an abortion was performed, induced or attempted. The report shall be transmitted to the United States centers for disease control and prevention for the national abortion surveillance report.
35-6-133. Rules and regulations for disposal of bodies and parts thereof.
The state department of health may prescribe rules and regulations for the disposal of the bodies, tissues, organs and parts thereof of an unborn child, human fetus or human embryo which has been aborted.
Any person, firm, corporation, group or association who violates W.S. 35-6-130 is guilty of an offense punishable by a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00).
35-6-136. Penalty for giving away an aborted child for experimentation; exemptions.
(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, whoever sells, transfers, distributes or gives away any aborted child or any tissue or cells from an aborted child for any form of experimentation is guilty of a felony punishable by a fine of not less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00) and by imprisonment in the penitentiary for not less than one (1) year nor more than fourteen (14) years. Any person consenting, aiding or abetting such sale, transfer, distribution or other unlawful disposition of an aborted child or any tissue or cells from an aborted child is guilty of a felony punishable by a fine of not less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00) and by imprisonment in the penitentiary for not less than one (1) year nor more than fourteen (14) years or both, and shall also be subject to prosecution for violation of any other criminal statute.
(b) Subsection (a) of this section shall not be construed to apply to:
(i) Any legal organ or tissue donations made by a parent;
(ii) A child or any tissues or cells from a miscarriage or produced by any medical procedure following a miscarriage, or any other medical condition which is not an abortion;
(iii) The use or transfer of tissue or cells from an aborted child, embryo or fetus for medical examination and testing to:
(A) Identify, confirm or deny any medical condition which lead to or influenced the decision to terminate the pregnancy;
(B) Obtain information relating to future medical treatment or counseling of parents, siblings or other blood relatives of the aborted child, embryo or fetus; or
(C) Comply with hospital quality control regulations.
35-6-137. Advertising drug or nostrum for procuring abortion or miscarriage.
Whoever prints or publishes any advertisement of any drug or nostrum with intent to obtain utilization of such drug or nostrum for procuring abortion or miscarriage; or sells or gives away, or keeps for sale or gratuitous distribution, any newspaper, circular, pamphlet, or book containing such advertisement, or any account or description, of such drug or nostrum with intent to obtain utilization of such drugs or nostrum to procure abortion or miscarriage, shall be fined not more than one hundred dollars ($100.00), to which may be added imprisonment in the county jail for not more than six (6) months.
35-6-139. Chemical abortions prohibited; exceptions; penalty.
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, it shall be unlawful to prescribe, dispense, distribute, sell or use any drug for the purpose of procuring or performing an abortion on any person.
(b) The prohibition in subsection (a) shall not apply to:
(i) The sale, use, prescription or administration of any contraceptive agent administered before conception or before pregnancy can be confirmed through conventional medical testing;
(ii) The treatment of a natural miscarriage according to currently accepted medical guidelines;
(iii) Treatment necessary to preserve the woman from an imminent peril that substantially endangers her life or health, according to appropriate medical judgment, or the pregnancy is the result of incest as defined by W.S. 6-4-402 or sexual assault as defined by W.S. 6-2-301. As used in this paragraph, "imminent peril" means only a physical condition and shall not include any psychological or emotional conditions. No medical treatment shall form the basis for an exception under this paragraph if it is based on a claim or diagnosis that the pregnant woman will engage in conduct which she intends to result in her death or other self-harm.
(c) Except as otherwise provided in this section, any physician or other person who violates subsection (a) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than six (6) months, a fine not to exceed nine thousand dollars ($9,000.00), or both.
(d) A woman upon whom a chemical abortion is performed or attempted shall not be criminally prosecuted pursuant to subsection (c) of this section.