Wyoming House lawmakers voted Thursday to advance a bill that would protect unborn babies by banning abortions once Roe v. Wade is overturned.
The Star-Tribune reports the state House voted 42-17 on an introductory vote to send House Bill 92, sponsored by Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams, R-Cody, to committee.
Sometimes referred to as a “trigger bill,” the legislation would ban abortions as soon as the U.S. Supreme Court allows states to do so. Exceptions would be allowed if the mother’s life is at risk.
“A trigger bill is an abortion ban in waiting,” Rodriguez-Williams told lawmakers, according to the news outlet. “The vast majority of Wyomingites support life from conception to natural death.”
Currently, because of Roe, states are forced to legalize abortions up to viability, but the Supreme Court is considering a Mississippi case that challenges that precedent. A ruling is expected this summer.
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If the Wyoming bill passes, the state would join 12 others with trigger laws that immediately would ban abortions once Roe is overturned. In Wyoming, the legislation would save dozens of unborn babies every year. The state reported 91 abortions in 2020, according to the Charlotte Lozier Institute.
The Guttmacher Institute, a pro-abortion research group that studies abortion, estimates 26 states “are certain or likely to ban abortions” if the Supreme Court gets rid of Roe.
Two other pro-life bills also advanced in the Wyoming legislature last week, including one that would ban abortion drugs and another that would protect unborn babies from discrimination.
State House Bill 149, sponsored by Rep. John Romero-Martinez, R-Cheyenne, would prohibit abortions because of an unborn baby’s sex, race, color, national origin, ancestry or potential disability. Abortionists who violate the ban could face felony charges, including up to 14 years in prison.
The bill, which received an initial approval vote of 46-14 on Friday, now heads to the House Labor Committee for consideration.
The third bill, Senate File 83, sponsored by state Sen. Tim Salazar, R-Fremont, would ban the sales and use of chemical abortion drugs in the state. Exceptions would be allowed for miscarriages and situations where the mother’s life is at risk. The state Senate voted 25-4 on Friday to send the bill to committee.
Across the country, state lawmakers are introducing legislation to protect unborn babies from abortion in the hopes that the Supreme Court will overturn Roe v. Wade this year. Florida appears poised to pass a 15-week abortion ban that would save thousands of unborn babies from abortion every year. West Virginia and Arizona also advanced similar bills to protect unborn babies this month.
Pro-life advocates also are working to expand support services for pregnant and parenting moms in anticipation that Roe may be overturned as soon as June.
Since Roe in 1973, more than 63.5 million unborn babies have been killed in abortions.
