(LifeSiteNews) – Wyoming may not enforce its general abortion ban or its ban on the use and distribution of abortion pills, Teton County District Judge Melissa Owens ruled.

Last year, Wyoming enacted the Life Is a Human Right Act, which forbids abortion by any surgical or chemical method except in cases of rape, incest, lethal fetal abnormality, or medical emergencies, and forbids the use of public funds to pay for abortions. The law was meant to replace the state’s pre-Roe trigger ban, which had been held up in court. Last year, Wyoming also became the first state with a law specifically dedicated to banning so-called “medication” abortions, a popular method to get around surgical abortion bans.

Fox News reported that Owens struck down both laws on Monday, ruling that they “impede the fundamental right to make health care decisions for an entire class of people, pregnant women.”

“The Defendants have not established a compelling governmental interest to exclude pregnant women from fully realizing the protections afforded by the Wyoming Constitution during the entire term of their pregnancies, nor have the Defendants established that the Abortion Statutes accomplish their interest,” the judge wrote. “The Court concludes that the Abortion Statutes suspend a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions during the entire term of a pregnancy and are not reasonable or necessary to protect the health and general welfare of the people.”

“Judge Owens’ ruling is frustrating, still this is just one of the steps in the judicial process,” responded Republican Gov. Mark Gordon, who appointed Owens. “Regardless of her decision, it was clear there would be an appeal. I remain committed to defending the constitutionality of this law and the sanctity of life.”

The ruling “goes beyond typical legal analysis and proclaims a nonexistent right to kill other humans solely because of their temporary location,” added Republican state Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams, lead sponsor of the Life Is a Human Right Act. “I will never give up in the fight to protect life. I pray that someday we will all look back on this time with horror and regret. This is the slavery of our time.”

Thirteen states ban most abortions, with lesser restrictions and regulations on the books in numerous others. Seven of 10 states enshrined abortion “rights” into their constitutions in the 2024 elections, although three states saw the first ballot losses for the abortion lobby since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022. With Roe gone, pro-abortion lawyers and activist judges have turned to trying to use state constitutions rather than the U.S. Constitution to insulate abortion-on-demand from legislative prohibition.