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House concurs with Senate amendments to House Bill 64 on chemical-abortion ultrasound requirements
Summary
The Wyoming House voted to concur with Senate amendments to House Bill 64, which adds a definition of chemical abortion, requires confirmation of an intrauterine pregnancy and gestational age, replaces "physician or pharmacist" with "health care provider," and reduces a penalty to a misdemeanor.
The Wyoming House voted to concur with Senate amendments to House Bill 64, titled "chemical abortions ultrasound requirement," after floor debate and a roll-call vote.
Representative Rodriguez Williams moved that the House concur with the Senate amendments and asked for an "aye" vote. The Senate amendments, as described on the floor, replace multiple occurrences of "physician or pharmacist" with "health care provider," add language requiring confirmation of an intrauterine pregnancy and gestational age, insert a definition of "chemical abortion" as use of medication or combination of medications to terminate a pregnancy once it can be confirmed by conventional medical testing, and change a penalty provision so the offense is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months' imprisonment and/or a fine not to exceed $9,000 (removing a previous reference to a five-year penalty).
Why it matters: The amendments narrow some of the bill's original language while adding an explicit medical-confirmation requirement and lowering the criminal penalty. Supporters said the changes clarify and strengthen the bill; opponents said the added medical language effectively requires a transvaginal ultrasound for confirmation and opposed concurrence for that reason.
Floor debate: Speaker Pro Tem Nyman spoke in support of concurrence, saying the changes strengthen and clarify definitions. Minority Floor Leader Yin opposed concurrence, arguing the requirement to confirm pregnancy and gestational age within the early timeframe effectively mandates transvaginal ultrasound and that he would vote no on concurrence.
Vote and outcome: The House called a roll call on the motion to concur. The clerk announced the final tally as 47 aye, 12 no, 3 excused. By that vote, the House concurred with the Senate amendments to House Bill 64.
Details and next steps: The House's concurrence sends the amended version of House Bill 64 onward in the legislative process as required by the legislature's rules. The recorded changes on the floor were the substitution of "health care provider" for "physician or pharmacist," the insertion of the intrauterine-pregnancy confirmation and gestational-age language, the statutory definition of "chemical abortion," and the reduction of the maximum penalty to a misdemeanor with the six-month/fine limit listed above.
Ending: With concurrence achieved, House Bill 64 proceeds with the Senate changes in place; proponents and opponents on the House floor left clear that disagreement remains about the clinical effects of the confirmation requirement.
