Gordon vetoes ultrasound bill, proponents call for override

CASPER, Wyo. — Gov. Mark Gordon has vetoed a bill requiring women to get an ultrasound no less than 48 hours before getting a chemical abortion. The veto was one of four announced by the governor’s office Wednesday night.

The Wyoming Freedom Caucus and right-to-life groups are calling on the majorities who passed the bill in both chambers to ensure an override with two-thirds of the vote.

Gordon wrote in a letter explaining the veto that the procedure doesn’t provide exceptions for cases of rape and incest, and that the invasive ultrasound procedure could re-traumatize women.

“Intimate obstetric and gynecological examinations can be highly problematic for survivors of childhood sexual abuse, or victims whose pregnancy is caused by rape or incest, or a woman and her family who is forced to choose her health over that of the unborn,” Gordon wrote. “This Act requires that these populations of women who may be more likely to feel disempowered or feel guilt‐induced duress to undergo a potentially retraumatizing experience. Forcing victims of rape to endure such an invasion a second time seems cruel.”

Julie Burkhart, president of Wellspring Health Access clinic in Casper, which offers abortions and other family planning and reproductive healthcare, applauded the decision. 

“The Ultrasound and Waiting Period Requirement Bill does nothing to improve patient care. Instead, it’s a calculated attempt to undermine reproductive rights under the guise of legislation,” Burkhart wrote in the release. 

“HB 64 interferes with the doctor-patient relationship, allowing politicians to dictate what medical procedures women must receive,” Burkhart wrote. “It is shameful and discriminatory — specifically targeting women seeking medication abortion while making access to safe and simple abortion care even more difficult. This is not about healthcare; it is about control.”

The governor also vetoed a bill that would remove the cap on the number of charter schools that the Wyoming Charter School Authorizing Board may authorize. In his veto letter, Gov. Gordon wrote that the Legislature still has yet to engage in a comprehensive review of charter school legislation that he has been requesting since 2021.

“While I continue to enthusiastically support school choice in Wyoming and the role that high-quality charter schools can play in our education system, I cannot, in good conscience, approve an expansion of charter schools at a time when our public education system faces significant financial uncertainty and without comprehensive changes to the law risk replicating the struggles that currently exist,” the governor wrote.

In his letter, the governor also pointed to the recent District Court ruling that the Wyoming Legislature has unconstitutionally underfunded the state’s public schools. He wrote that because the state currently lacks “a sustainable, transparent plan to ensure adequate funding for public schools and education savings accounts, lifting the cap on charter school authorizations without a clear picture of the cumulative fiscal impact of educational innovation in Wyoming is both premature and irresponsible.”

The governor vetoed two additional bills. Gordon said that the Hathaway scholarship-amendments would weaken the scholarship by expanding it without adding an appropriation, despite existing workforce programs already in place.

SF0132 – Protecting critical infrastructure and systems from drones was vetoed due to conflict with Federal Aviation Administration law and regulations, as well as the risk of federal penalties for Wyoming law enforcement attempting to comply with the proposed law, Gordon said.