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A Wyoming judge temporarily blocked the state’s newest abortion limit, halting enforcement of a law that prohibits most abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected, generally around six weeks of pregnancy.
Natrona County District Judge Dan Forgey on Friday granted temporary injunctive relief against the Human Heartbeat Act while the case plays out in court.
The plaintiffs “made a sufficient showing of irreparable injury,” Forgey wrote, adding that “the state defendants did not persuasively argue otherwise.”
He also said the plaintiffs had made “a sufficient showing of probable success” under Article 1, Section 38 of the Wyoming Constitution, which protects individuals’ rights to make their own healthcare decisions.
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The ruling is the latest turn in Wyoming’s long-running abortion fight and comes just months after the Wyoming Supreme Court struck down two earlier abortion restrictions, finding they violated the state constitution’s healthcare autonomy protections. That January decision reshaped the legal landscape in Wyoming and prompted lawmakers to try again with a narrower ban tied to the detection of fetal cardiac activity.
The law, passed during the Legislature’s 2026 session and signed by Republican Gov. Mark Gordon on March 9, took effect in March. It bars abortion beyond roughly the sixth week of pregnancy, once a fetal heartbeat is detected. The measure includes exceptions for medical emergencies that threaten a woman’s life or health, but not for pregnancies caused by rape or incest.
“Where the act does not align to my pro-life stance is in the concern for specific vulnerable populations,” Gordon wrote in a letter to lawmakers Monday.
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It echoes his reservations and expected legal fight when signing the law in March.
“I resoundingly share the determination to defend the lives of unborn children and support the intentions behind the Human Heartbeat Act,” he wrote in a statement. “Regrettably, this Act represents another well-intentioned but likely fragile legal effort with significant risk of ending in the courts rather than in lasting, durable policy. Rather than finding a remedy that saves the unborn, I fear we have only added another chapter to the sad saga of repeatedly trying to force a specific solution.”
Gordon’s signing made Wyoming the fifth state to bar most abortions at that stage of pregnancy, along with Florida, Georgia, Iowa and South Carolina. Thirteen other states bar abortion at all stages of pregnancy, with some exceptions.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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