Some abortion providers in the Mountain West scrambled over the weekend to prepare for an influx of in-person patients.
“We were printing more consents and getting more paperwork ready and making sure we had space in the schedule,” said Dr. Giovannina Anthony, a provider in Jackson, Wyoming.
That was after a federal appeals court banned getting mifepristone through telehealth, mail or a pharmacy on May 1. The U.S. Supreme Court has now temporarily restored access to the drug — one of two commonly used for medication abortions.
The organization Pro-Life Utah said on social media that the Supreme Court’s decision to restore access was “very unfortunate.”
“We need to ban the abortion pill,” the group said.
The Court could release a more final decision on the future of mifepristone as soon as May 11.
Providers brace for impact
Abortion providers say banning the medication through telehealth and other methods would just result in more in-person patients.
“It’s very popular to do by telehealth, especially in rural America,” said Anthony.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights, in states with total abortion bans, fewer people are traveling across state lines for care as more people turn to telehealth.
Without this option, “bricks and mortar would be critical in helping people,” said Julie Burkhart, the president of Wellspring Health Access, an abortion clinic in Casper, Wyoming.
Despite the Supreme Court making telehealth services accessible again, Burkhart said the clinic received a high number of calls on May 4 amid confusion over what’s available.
Changing law in Wyoming
Abortion access has been in flux in Wyoming. Starting this week, most abortions will be banned in the state after a fetus is viable. That’s around 23 to 24 weeks, when a fetus may be able to survive outside the uterus.
The viability ban was triggered when a court temporarily blocked a new state law, the Human Heartbeat Act, which bans abortion at about six weeks. It reverts Wyoming’s restrictions to before Roe vs. Wade was overturned in 2022. The provision includes exceptions to “preserve a woman from imminent peril.”
“This is an important step that ensures Wyoming can protect unborn children to the fullest extent allowed under the law,” Gov. Mark Gordon said in a press release, where he certified the viability provision. “While the court has stayed the enforcement of the Heartbeat Act, this trigger will save lives and establish meaningful protections for late term babies in the womb.”
However, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows only about 1% of abortions happened after the 21-week mark in 2022.
Anthony said Wyoming providers already don’t typically give abortions this late in a pregnancy. Those cases usually involve a lethal fetal anomaly or threats to a pregnant person’s life, and are usually sent out of state.
“That particular provision really doesn’t affect us here on the ground very much,” Anthony said.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Northern Colorado, KANW in New Mexico, Colorado Public Radio, KJZZ in Arizona and NPR, with additional support from affiliate newsrooms across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Eric and Wendy Schmidt.
