Wyoming Bill Preventing Regulation Of Crisis Pregnancy Centers Advances

A bill in Wyoming that would essentially prevent regulation of crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs), which sometimes counsel patients against receiving abortion care, is slowly making its way through the state legislature.

HB0273, also known as the Wyoming Pregnancy Center Autonomy and Rights of Expression (CARE) Act, would prohibit "the state and specified governmental entities from adopting any law, rule or policy that targets pregnancy centers for oversight or regulation based on the centers' stance against abortion."

The Act blocks state or local officials from requiring CPCs to offer or perform abortions; to offer or provide abortion medications or contraception; and to refer, provide information or post flyers about abortions or contraception.

A center's stance on abortion would also not prohibit it from providing resources to pregnant people such as diapers, formula, baby clothes, baby furniture and other items, under the law. Additionally, officials would not be allowed to interfere with the center's staffing or hiring decisions.

The bill is similar to one that passed in Montana this year, and was signed into law in May. Both have received the backing of the anti-abortion group Alliance Defending Freedom, which is credited with playing a role in the Supreme Court's eventual overruling of Roe v. Wade in 2022.

Last week, the Wyoming Legislature's Joint Labor, Health and Social Services Committee advanced the legislation. It will head to the House or Senate floor during the upcoming budget session, which will need a two-thirds majority to pass.

"As Chairman of the House Labor, Health, and Social Services committee in the Wyoming Legislature, I was pleased with the committee's decision to recently sponsor 'The CARE Act,'" State Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams, a Republican and co-sponsor of the bill, told ABC News in a statement.

"The CARE Act is designed to protect the life-affirming mission and work of Wyoming pregnancy centers," the statement continued. "It ensures that government officials cannot discriminate against pregnancy centers and it prohibits government officials from censoring the free speech of pregnancy centers or forcing them to express messages they disagree with."

Katie Knutter, executive director of Wellspring Health Access, the only clinic that provides abortions in Wyoming, said the Act seeks to manufacture a problem that doesn't exist.

The bill "is seeking to correct a problem or prevent harm that's not happening, and by using the very limited time that the committee has between sessions, taking away from the Wyoming legislature's ability and time to actually work on maternal health concerns in the state," she told ABC News. "There's been no evidence at any level that any form of government in Wyoming has sought to, in any way, restrict or prohibit anything that crisis pregnancy centers are doing."

CPCs, sometimes referred to as pregnancy resource centers, are non-medical facilities that offer free ultrasounds and pregnancy tests as well as support ranging from free diapers to clothing and parenting classes to women who choose to continue on with their pregnancy.

Proponents of pregnancy centers say the centers help support pregnant people  during and after their pregnancy.

However, major medical organizations like the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists (ACOG) say that CPCs present themselves as reproductive health care clinics while working to discourage people from accessing certain care, including abortion care and even contraceptive options.

"Abortion is a safe medical intervention backed by decades of robust data," ACOG states on its website. "Despite this fact, many CPC staffs use false and misleading information, emotional manipulation, and delays to divert pregnant people from accessing comprehensive and timely care from patient-centered, appropriately trained, and licensed medical professionals."

Abortion rights protesters chant slogans during a gathering to protest the Supreme Court's decision in the Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health case on June 24, 2022 in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Natalie Behring/Getty Images

Knutter said some CPCs mislead patients such as telling patients they are less far along or more far along in the pregnancy than they actually are or provide misinformation such as telling patients that abortion or the use of contraceptives can lead to increased risks of health issues like breast cancer.

She added that there is a maternal health crisis in the state with OBGYNs leaving, hospitals closing their maternal health care divisions and patients traveling long distances to seek care, which she would like to see the legislature focus on instead.

"We recommend that people in Wyoming contact their lawmakers and make sure that their voice is heard regarding these bills and tell their lawmakers that it is a problem for them to ignore the maternal health care crisis and that they want them to make real changes that can help pregnant people in Wyoming," Knutter said.