By Jasmine Hall
Jackson Hole News&Guide
Via- Wyoming News Exchange

JACKSON — State attorneys defending two new laws restricting abortion access in Wyoming want the case heard in Natrona County instead of Teton County.

A motion for a change of venue was filed March 12 in the 9th District Court in Teton County over concerns the plaintiffs were “judge shopping” and the location of the abortion clinic in Casper wasn’t being taken into consideration. 

Plaintiffs objected to moving the case back to Casper.

Wellspring Health Access, the only procedural and medical abortion clinic in the state, withdrew its initial lawsuit from the 7th District Court in Casper and refiled in Teton County last week. Wellspring, along with five other plaintiffs, made the decision after the case failed to get any traction for two weeks. Wellspring is in Casper.

Plaintiffs view the litigation as “urgent,” because both House Bill 42 and House Bill 64 went into effect immediately.

Attorneys requested an emergency hearing and asked 9th District Court Judge Melissa Owens to issue a temporary restraining order. An emergency hearing has been scheduled for 2 p.m. on Wednesday in Teton County.

“Plaintiffs admit that they dismissed their lawsuit in Natrona County because they were dissatisfied with the district court’s response to their motion for a TRO and hoped to obtain a more favorable result in this court,” according to the state’s motion for change of venue.

Owens not only issued a temporary restraining order and granted emergency hearings in a previous abortion ban case, but also found two bans passed in 2023 unconstitutional in November 2024.

The state appealed that decision. Oral arguments are scheduled in the Wyoming Supreme Court on April 16.

In the most recent case, the state argued based on case law that, “A court cannot condone plaintiffs’ practice of running to a different city … and filing a new case every time a judge in a prior action makes a ruling adverse to that litigant’s position.”

The state also views Natrona County as the “only proper venue” to challenge HB 42 because the bill creates new regulations for abortion clinics, such as being licensed as an ambulatory surgical center and prohibiting anyone other than a physician from performing a surgical abortion.

“As Wyoming’s only surgical abortion facility, Wellspring is the only plaintiff to claim that application of HEA 26 violates its constitutional right to equal protection,” court documents say.

State attorneys said Wellspring is also the only plaintiff to allege concrete injury, because “its staff have had no choice but to stop offering reproductive health services” and had to cancel appointments since Feb. 27. Although the state recognized that the other plaintiffs who are health care providers or women who may seek an abortion in the future could face personal injury because of the HB 64, which requires women get an ultrasound at least 48 hours before a “chemical abortion,” Natrona County’s district court was viewed as the proper venue for both laws.

Dr. Giovannina Anthony, a plaintiff in both abortion cases, pushed against the state. She said the allegation that Wellspring is the only plaintiff that could be harmed by HB 42 is incorrect.

“As a result of enactment of House Bill 42, HEA 26, Wellspring is not currently offering procedural abortions and I cannot refer my patients to Wellspring for procedural abortions,” Anthony said in a filed response. “This is impacting my medical practice and my ability to provide essential health care to my patients.”

As of Monday, Judge Owens had not issued a decision on returning the case to Casper.