Wyoming Republicans’ anti-abortion bill inadvertently targets chemotherapy and surgeries

Senate File 125 could limit access to any treatment that causes harm' to the heart, lungs, brain and other organs

In an effort to restrict abortion access, Wyoming Republicans authored a bill that could choke access to a host of life-saving medical procedures, from chemotherapy to heart surgery.

State judge Melissa Owens overturned Wyoming's abortion bans in November 2024, citing the state's constitutionally guaranteed right to healthcare. The Republican state senator Cheri Steinmetz and the bill's eight co-sponsors took issue with the ruling, and sought to draw up a definition of healthcare that excludes abortion.