The pill, called mifepristone, has been legally sold for years. (representative)
United States Washington:
Wyoming became the first U.S. state to ban the abortion pill on Friday, the latest move by conservative-led states fighting abortion.
After signing the abortion pill ban, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon called on lawmakers to go further by proposing a sweeping abortion ban be written into the state constitution before it goes to voters for approval.
“I believe this issue needs to be decided quickly in order to finally resolve abortion in Wyoming, preferably by a popular vote,” the Republican governor said in a statement.
The move comes after a landmark Supreme Court ruling last year amid a nationwide campaign by anti-abortion groups to push for a blanket ban on abortion, a move that Wyoming took.
Also looming is a ruling in a federal court in Texas, where judges are expected to immediately decide whether to ban the widely used abortion pill nationwide.
The pill, called mifepristone, was approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration more than a decade ago and has been used legally for years.
Texas Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk could order the abortion pill to be taken off the shelves nationwide.
Texas lawmakers are also considering a proposal that would not only ban abortion pills but would also require Internet service providers in the state to block access to websites that sell them by mail.
Wyoming Gov. Gordon says he won’t back down in the fight against abortion.
“I believe that all life is sacred and that every human being, including the unborn, deserves dignity and compassion,” Gordon said in a letter to the secretary of state Friday night.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court last year overturned a 1973 ruling establishing abortion as a constitutional right, anti-abortion activists have sought ways to implement a nationwide ban.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive health research organization, about 15 states have restricted access to mifepristone by requiring doctors to provide it.
(Aside from the title, this story is unedited by NDTV staff and published via a syndicated feed.)
