Latest news with #Wellspring
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Abortions set to resume at Wyoming's only clinic following court ruling
Wyoming's only abortion clinic will reopen and begin providing care after a judge on Monday suspended two laws restricting abortion in the state. Wellspring Health Access said it will resume abortions on Thursday, following a temporary injunction granted by a district court judge, which halted the laws from taking effect as the case progresses. One 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. The ultrasound legislation passed despite a veto from Gov. Mark Gordon (R). The clinic has been unable to see patients since the evening of Feb. 27, when Gordon signed the licensing requirement bill into law. The legislation required abortion clinics to be regulated as 'ambulatory surgical centers' and for physicians to have specific admitting privileges, licensing and data reporting requirements. Opponents say the licensing legislation is a type of TRAP law — an abbreviation for Targeted Regulations of Abortion Providers — that singles out the medical practices of doctors who provide abortions and imposes requirements that are more costly and burdensome than those imposed on other medical practices. They are designed to regulate clinics and abortion access out of existence even if abortion remains legal. Julie Burkhart, Wellspring's president and founder, said the clinic will reopen on Thursday. 'We are delighted and relieved that we can once again see patients at our clinic in Casper. Individuals from every corner of Wyoming rely on us for quality, reliable reproductive health care,' Burkhart said in a statement. 'We look forward to reopening our doors — starting Thursday — and welcoming patients from across the Mountain region and beyond.' Wyoming has sought to enact two abortion bans since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022: one banning abortion broadly, and another banning abortion medication specifically. Both were declared unconstitutional by a state judge in November. The Wyoming Supreme Court heard arguments in that case last week but is unlikely to rule for several months. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
22-04-2025
- Health
- The Hill
Abortions set to resume at Wyoming's only clinic following court ruling
Wyoming's only abortion clinic will reopen and begin providing care after a judge on Monday suspended two laws restricting abortion in the state. Wellspring Health Access said it will resume abortions on Thursday, following a temporary injunction granted by a district court judge, which halted the laws from taking effect as the case progresses. One 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. The ultrasound legislation passed despite a veto from Gov. Mark Gordon (R). The clinic has been unable to see patients since the evening of Feb. 27, when Gordon signed the licensing requirement bill into law. The legislation required abortion clinics to be regulated as 'ambulatory surgical centers' and for physicians to have specific admitting privileges, licensing and data reporting requirements. Opponents say the licensing legislation is a type of TRAP law — an abbreviation for Targeted Regulations of Abortion Providers — that singles out the medical practices of doctors who provide abortions and imposes requirements that are more costly and burdensome than those imposed on other medical practices. They are designed to regulate clinics and abortion access out of existence even if abortion remains legal. Julie Burkhart, Wellspring's president and founder, said the clinic will reopen on Thursday. 'We are delighted and relieved that we can once again see patients at our clinic in Casper. Individuals from every corner of Wyoming rely on us for quality, reliable reproductive health care,' Burkhart said in a statement. 'We look forward to reopening our doors — starting Thursday — and welcoming patients from across the Mountain region and beyond.' Wyoming has sought to enact two abortion bans since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022: one banning abortion broadly, and another banning abortion medication specifically. Both were declared unconstitutional by a state judge in November. The Wyoming Supreme Court heard arguments in that case last week but is unlikely to rule for several months.
The Guardian
08-03-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Fate of Wyoming's last abortion clinic in balance as Republicans take aim
There's a small, unremarkable beige building in downtown Casper, the heart of Wyoming's oil country, tucked between a Sinclair gas station and a local dry cleaner. Most days of the week, the building attracts a small throng of protesters. In May 2022, it was burned down just three weeks before a new business was set to open in the building. Since it finally opened in 2023, Wyoming lawmakers have passed a number of laws designed specifically to shut it down. Wyoming's 2025 legislative session, which has just ended, has brought them closer than ever to succeeding in obstructing the work of Wellspring Health Access, the state's only full-service abortion clinic. Near-total abortion bans went into effect in Wyoming after the US supreme court overturned Roe v Wade in 2022, but a Wyoming district court judge overturned the bans last year citing the state's constitutionally guaranteed right to healthcare access. The case – brought by Wellspring – is currently in the hands of the Wyoming supreme court. Due to an injunction, Wellspring was able to operate during the prolonged legal battle. That changed last week, when the conservative legislature passed a law requiring facilities providing in-clinic abortions meet the regulatory requirements of ambulatory surgical centers, which have entirely different building codes and regulations, requiring a prohibitively expensive relocation. The law would also require doctors to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 10 miles, which is more stringent than its codes for ambulatory surgical centers. Another law mandates a transvaginal ultrasound and 48-hour waiting period for women seeking abortions, and was passed after the legislature overrode the governor's veto on Thursday. In the meantime, the clinic has paused services for all patients. Wellspring is back in familiar territory – the Wyoming courts – and has filed a lawsuit against both bills. 'We're quite disappointed in the legislature. We saw it coming, but it's still disappointing,' said Julie Burkhart, Wellspring's president. The laws are designated by reproductive law experts as Trap laws, anti-abortion policies to chip away at abortion access when a full ban is out of reach. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has opposed legislation identical to Wyoming's ambulatory surgical center bill, and opposes ultrasound requirements. Republican speaker of the house Chip Neiman was the main sponsor of this session's ultrasound bill. While Neiman insists the reasoning behind the bill is medical, he admitted during a floor debate this session that his bill also intended to make women 'reconsider' their abortions. When asked by the Guardian how he reached a medical position opposed by major medical associations, Neiman opened by talking about the sanctity of life. 'That's a human being,' Neiman said. Neiman continued his answer on his medical position by talking about anti animal-cruelty legislation, an anecdote about a fellow legislator who knew two women who had abortions 40 years ago and said they were severely distraught afterwards, and his belief in abortion bans without exceptions, saying that he favors the death penalty for men who rape women. 'There's more to it than just getting rid of an inconvenience, you know, or something that's going to impact, your financial, or through rape or incest or whatever,' Neiman said. 'I get that that's traumatic. I believe anybody that perpetrates that on a woman, to me, the death penalty is the best answer.' The new laws would require Wellspring to completely restructure the clinic's operations. At the moment, people seeking abortions are largely being referred to Colorado, and Burkhart is working out solutions for those that come for its other services, including IUDs, family planning, oral contraceptives, and general gynecological services. Wyoming residents may still choose to receive medication abortions from out of state through the mail, thanks to shield laws that offer protections to providers who prescribe pills to people in states with bans. (A doctor in Jackson, Wyoming, previously prescribed the pills but did not respond to questions from the Guardian asking if this is still the case.) But the loss of the services frozen at Wellspring – which was the only facility in the state providing surgical abortions – will reverberate beyond Casper, the state's second largest city with a population of under 60,000. Burkhart says the clinic has served people from over 19 states, many coming from states with similarly harsh abortion laws. 'We have a commitment to bringing reproductive health services to under-served and under-resourced areas,' Burkhart said. 'I come from an agricultural family in Oklahoma, and so for me, that's very personal, because no matter where you live in the United States, you deserve access to quality healthcare.' Burkhart is no stranger to hostile political conditions, having been an adviser for Kansas doctor George Tiller, who was assassinated in 2009 by an anti-abortion extremist. She worries about the protesters outside, who she says are increasingly emboldened by national politics. 'We have a bomb-threat policy. We have an active-shooter policy. These are things that in other businesses, people do not have to think about day to day,' Burkhart said. 'Staff have to be alert when they're out in public. You know, are they being followed? This does not make living life easy.' While the atmosphere in Wyoming's legislature is hostile to abortion, data suggests that voters in the Cowboy State feel differently. Polling from the University of Wyoming shows that only 11% of residents believe 'abortion should never be permitted'. Another 20% support abortion in cases where 'the need has been clearly established', and nearly 40% believe 'women should always have access to abortions as a matter of personal choice'. Lawmakers filed five bills targeting abortion at the outset of the 2025 legislative session. Some of the more ambitious measures failed, such as a bill that would have regulated abortion pill chemicals in wastewater by making women bag the remains of their miscarriages and a first-of-its kind effort to exempt abortion from the state's definition of healthcare, that, in its original draft, would have exempted chemotherapy as well. Burkhart says that her and her staff plan to stay in the fight. After trial by fire with the 2022 arson, she says many people expected her to give up. 'I think people thought, and rightfully so, 'They're gonna pack up and go home and call it a day here,'' Burkhart said. 'But we dug our heels in even deeper.'
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
As Wyoming abortion services halt, travel to Colorado for access more likely
DENVER (KDVR) — As Wyoming lawmakers attempt to restrict and even ban abortion access, the state's lone full-service clinic suspended abortion services last week, meaning travel to Colorado for abortion access could be more likely. This comes after Colorado voters enshrined abortion rights in the state constitution last year and as several bills are moving through the state legislature that would enhance provider protections. Abortion bills heard in Colorado legislative committee Abortion access in Colorado's northern neighbor is currently still legal, though the Wyoming state supreme court is set to decide on a lawsuit challenging a ban that was passed and subsequently blocked. That has not stopped state lawmakers from passing more restrictive measures on abortions including one last week that effectively stopped abortions in the state. A new law signed by Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon Thursday night adds 'additional safety requirements' that clinics providing surgical abortions to be licenses surgical centers. The state's only full-service abortion clinic, Wellspring Health Access in Casper, unable to meet that requirement and wary of implications suspended all abortion services on Friday. More Wyoming women are likely to travel to Colorado and other states where abortions are legal and accessible, The Associated Press reported, even as the governor vetoed a bill on Tuesday that would have put more regulations on abortions. Wyoming's governor vetoes ultrasound requirement for medication abortions Wellspring Health Access President Julie Burkhart, in a statement posted on Facebook, said the clinic is still taking calls from patients. She said the new law puts Wyoming residents at risk. 'We have become a beacon of hope in this state,' Burkhart said. 'Make no mistake—this law directly targets our clinic with the explicit goal of forcing us out of business. By doing so, it limits healthcare options, increases costs, and puts countless individuals at risk.' Wellspring is among those challenging the bans and the new licensing requirement in court, according to AP. Colorado has been a center for out-of-state travelers needing abortion access. In 2021, even before Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, the number of people seeking abortions in Colorado from other states increased. Colorado voters in November 2024 approved Amendment 79, which amended the Colorado Constitution and repealed a ban, which was approved in 1984, on state and local government funding for abortion services. This means the amendment would require Medicaid and private health insurers to cover the service. The amendment would also prohibit state and local governments from denying, impeding or discriminating against the right to an abortion. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Guardian
04-03-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Wyoming governor vetoes ultrasound requirement for medication abortions
A bill that would have required women seeking medication abortions to get ultrasounds has been vetoed by Wyoming's Republican governor, who questioned whether it was reasonable and necessary especially for victims of rape and incest. 'Mandating this intimate, personally invasive, and often medically unnecessary procedure goes too far,' Mark Gordon wrote in a letter explaining his veto late on Monday. Groups working to maintain abortion access in Wyoming – the first state to attempt to explicitly outlaw medication abortions – praised the veto even though Gordon over the past three years has signed into law several bills seeking to ban the procedure. 'It's important that women are able to access this healthcare without undue and unnecessary burden,' Christine Lichtenfels, executive director of the abortion access advocate Chelsea's Fund, said on Tuesday. The bill would have required women planning medication abortions to arrange and potentially drive long distances for ultrasound appointments in the rural state. Abortion remains legal in Wyoming pending the outcome of a lawsuit before the state supreme court challenging the bans. Abortion access has dwindled, however, since Wyoming's lone full-service abortion clinic stopped providing both pill and surgical abortions after Gordon signed a bill into law last week. That new law requires clinics providing surgical abortions to be licensed surgical centers. Unable to immediately meet that requirement and wary of legal implications, Wellspring Health Access in Casper suspended all abortion services on Friday. As a result, more Wyoming women are likely to travel to Colorado and other states where abortion remains legal and accessible. The president of Wellspring Health Access, Julie Burkhart, praised Gordon's veto in a statement and noted the clinic was still taking calls from patients. 'Despite these new restrictions, Wellspring Health Access remains open. We have not – and will not – abandon our patients. We are here for them, now and always,' Burkhart said. Wellspring is among those challenging the bans and the new licensing requirement in court.
