Constitutional Amendment A was a Wyoming Constitutional Amendment which was passed in 2012, principally in opposition to the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
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The adoption of this amendment will provide that the right to make health care decisions is reserved to the citizens of the state of Wyoming. It permits any person to pay and any health care provider to receive direct payment for services. The amendment permits the legislature to place reasonable and necessary restrictions on health care consistent with the purposes of the Wyoming Constitution and provides that this state shall act to preserve these rights from undue governmental infringement. | |||||||||||||||||||
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Background
editThe amendment was primarily sponsored by Wyoming State Senator Leslie Nutting (7th district)[1] intended to prohibit people from being compelled to participate in the ACA.[2] Opponents of the amendment said that the amendment would disallow healthcare access to many Wyoming residents,[3] and that the amendment would have unintended consequences.[1]
Provisions
editThe amendment created a new Section 38 within Article 1 of the Wyoming constitution entitled "Right of health care access".[4] Amongst other things, the amendment created the following line within the Wyoming Constitution:
Each competent adult shall have the right to make his or her own health care decisions.
— Wyoming Constitution, Excerpt of Article 1, Section 38
Result
edit| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| For | 181,984 | 76.9 |
| Against | 54,405 | 23.0 |
| Invalid or blank votes | 14,312 | 5.7 |
| Total | 250,701 | 100 |
Impact on abortion
editFollowing the US Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, state legislatures were allowed to regulate any aspect of abortion. The Wyoming State Legislature passed HB92, a trigger law that would ban abortion beginning five days after the overturn of Roe v. Wade.[5] The amendment had the unintended impact of allowing a lawsuit against HB92 that alleged that HB92 violated the state constitution by denying competent individuals the right to make their own health care decisions.[6][7][8]
References
edit- ^ a b Press, Associated PressAssociated (2012-10-30). "Wyoming Voters Face 3 Amendments Next Week". K2 Radio. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
- ^ Carter, Chelsea J.; Brennan, Allison (2012-11-01). "Maryland, Maine, Washington approve same-sex marriage; 2 states legalize pot | CNN Politics". CNN. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
- ^ Pollreisz, Anthony PollreiszAnthony (2012-10-31). "Three Proposed Constitutional Amendments on the November Ballot". K2 Radio. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
- ^ Constantino, Annika Kim (2023-03-24). "Wyoming abortion ban blocked due to Obamacare-era amendment". CNBC. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
- ^ "HB0092 - Abortion prohibition-supreme court decision". www.wyoleg.gov. March 15, 2022. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
- ^ Gruver, Mead (2024-11-19). "Judge strikes down Wyoming abortion laws, including an explicit ban on pills to end pregnancy". AP News. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
- ^ Foster, Robin (19 November 2024). "Judge Declares Wyoming's Abortion Bans Unconstitutional". U.S. News. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
- ^ Press, Associated (2024-11-19). "Judge strikes down Wyoming's anti-abortion laws in victory for rights advocates". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-11-22.