Wyoming Governor Signs 6-Week Abortion Ban With No Exceptions For Rape Or Incest

Wyoming is the fifth state to ban abortion around six weeks, before many people know they are pregnant.

Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon on Monday signed ban on abortions after embryotic cardiac activity can be detected, generally at about six weeks’ gestation and often before women know they’re pregnant.

The signing makes Wyoming the fifth state to bar 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.

Gordon, a Republican, said in a letter to lawmakers Monday that he has some misgivings about the law he signed because it does not include exceptions 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,” he wrote.

The law does make an exception in cases to “preserve the woman from an imminent peril that substantially endangers her life or health, according to appropriate medical judgment.”

The other issue, Gordon said, is that the law “very likely puts us back in the all too familiar and unfortunate territory of pro-life litigation.” The state’s Supreme Court in January stuck down a ban on abortion throughout pregnancy.