Senate committee advances bill requiring surgical abortion facilities to meet ambulatory surgical center standards

The Senate Committee of the Whole voted to report House Bill 42, a bill that would require surgical abortion facilities in Wyoming to be licensed as ambulatory surgical centers and impose licensing, admitting-privilege and reporting requirements, after adopting committee amendments and passing the measure in committee.

The bill, introduced to the Senate as House Bill 42 and explained on the floor by Senator Hutchings, would require each surgical abortion facility to be licensed as an ambulatory surgical center under Wyoming statutes (cited in the bill as Wyoming Statutes 35-2-901 through 35-2-914). The bill also requires that surgical abortions be performed by physicians licensed in Wyoming who have admitting privileges at a hospital within 10 miles of the facility, requires reporting that surgical abortions were performed by a licensed Wyoming doctor, and establishes criminal penalties for certain violations.

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