District Judge Melissa Owens ruled on Wednesday that Wyoming will preserve abortion rights while a lawsuit that contests a ban on the procedure in nearly all cases moves ahead. Judge Owens also drafted a memo explaining the decision.

What does it mean?

Judge Owens explained that abortion rights in Wyoming will likely stay the way they are. Her memo said the lawsuit is on track to succeed as the current ban conflicts with the state constitution.

The District Judge said that the abortion ban may be harmful to pregnant women and their doctors, who may want to go ahead with the abortion procedure with the risk of prosecution.

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Why was the lawsuit needed?

Wyoming governor Mark Gordon was prepared to sign an abortion “trigger” ban law in March. It was drafted in anticipation of the US Supreme Court’s possible reversal of Roe v. Wade, a crucial 50-year-old precedent. It was overturned on June 24, 2022.

The new Wyoming law would ban abortion except in cases of rape or incest or to protect the mother’s life or health, not including psychological conditions. The punishment for violating the abortion ban could be up to 14-year jail time, according to news agency Associated Press.

How did Wyoming respond?

Wyoming’s ban on abortion took effect on July 27, however, it was suspended within a few hours. District Judge Melissa Owens passed a restraining order that would protect doctors and pregnant women. Wednesday’s ruling has extended the restraining order’s expiration date.

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With both rulings, Owens sided with four women, including two obstetricians, and two nonprofits, including a planned Casper women’s health care and abortion clinic that was firebombed in May, who sued to contest the law.

Voters passed the amendment amid resistance to the federal Affordable Care Act, which sought to expand health insurance coverage and lower health care costs nationwide. The amendment had nothing to do with abortion, Wyoming special assistant attorney general Jay Jerde said in a hearing in the case Tuesday.