House bill proposes abortion waiting period

A bill introduced in the Wyoming House of Representatives Jan. 15 is stirring up controversy with a proposed 48-hour waiting period on all non-emergency abortions.        House Bill 140 would require women who want to have an abortion to wait 48 hours after meeting with the physician who will perform the procedure before undergoing it. The bill would add this restriction to abortion law already on the books in Title 35, the state’s comprehensive legislation on health and public safety, that prohibits abortions after the fetus is viable except when the mother’s health is in danger.  

The only exception allowed for the 48-hour waiting period is threat to the life or health of the mother, which qualifies as an emergency situation.

Rep. Richard Tass, who introduced the bill, told the Casper Star Tribune that abortions aren’t like pieces of clothing that you can change your mind multiple times on whether you want to keep it – abortion is a final decision.

            “It gives them the gift of time to think about it and to consider what the long term ramifications of an abortion,” Tass said in a release, as reported by KCWY13 in Casper.

            The bill passed in the House Judiciary Committee Jan. 22 with six votes for and three against. Reps. Gray, Jennings, Kirkbride, Pownall, Salazar and Washut championed the bill but Reps. Burlingame, Pelkey and Stith opposed the bill.

            Not everyone is as keen on the new bill as Tass, however. Sabrina King, policy director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Wyoming, feels that two days is a bit much to ask women who are going to a physician to abort because most of these women have made up their mind prior to their appointments, Wyoming Public Media reported.

            “For the state to come in and say ‘you have to wait 48 hours regardless,’ really is overreach on the part of the government,” King said in a release.

            Some Wyoming residents are also taking a stand against the bill, from reverends to ordinary citizens.

            “We need to stop hiding behind dated and sexist beliefs that do nothing but subjugate women,” Cheyenne resident Phil Armstrong told the Casper Star Tribune. “We need to trust women.”

After being passed by the committee, the bill is now on general file and will be discussed by House as a whole. It must pass three readings and be passed in the Senate before it can be sent to the Governor to be signed into law.

            Neighbor state Montana currently has a waiting period for women who want abortions, but the courts are reviewing the law. Colorado does not have a waiting period or a gestational limit for late-term abortions; pregnancies may be terminated for a number of medical reasons.

            Students looking for more information concerning this law may look at the current status at WyoLeg.gov and type in the bill number HB0140 in the “Legislation” menu.