ROLLING BACK TIME

Wyoming Becomes First State to Ban ALL Abortion Pills

The bill comes just as a Texas judge is expected to rule soon on whether mifepristone—the first of two pills needed to complete an abortion—could lose its FDA approval.

Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, a Republican, signed a bill into law late Friday that bans all abortion pills in the state—the first legislation of its kind to be passed anywhere in the United States. The law, which goes into effect immediately, says it's now “unlawful to prescribe, dispense, distribute, sell or use any drug for the purpose of procuring or performing an abortion.” Those who take the pill can be be punished with up to six months’ in the clink and a fine of as much as $9,000—though it allows drugs to be used to treat “natural miscarriages.” Abortion pills are used to treat nearly half of all abortions in the U.S., but the pills have recently been under attack by conservative groups. A Texas judge, at the behest of pro-life activists, is expected to soon rule on whether mifepristone—the first of two pills needed to complete an abortion—should be outlawed nationwide by repealing its FDA approval.