In the Equality State, women fight for the right to choose

JACKSON, Wyo. — Prior to the overturn of Roe v. Wade on June 24, Wyoming was among the states that passed abortion bans in the case that Roe was reversed.

This week, Governor Mark Gordon gave the go-ahead for the abortion “trigger” bill to take effect on July 27.

However, yesterday when the ban took effect, a Wyoming judge blocked the state’s abortion ban siding with a women’s health clinic and others who argued the ban would harm health care workers and their patients while also violating the state constitution.

Ahead of the court’s decision, community members planned to gather on Jackson’s Town Square at 5 p.m. tonight to rally for continued reproductive rights in Wyoming and nationwide.

Grace Peck, a local mom and artist, designed t-shirts for the event. Proceeds from the sales benefit abortion access. Peck’s t-shirt design is a play on the imagery from the famous Cowboy Bar sign of a man being bucked off a horse. Yet in her design, it’s a woman riding the horse. The shirt reads: “Bans off our bodies.”

Peck explained that both the design and cause are personal to her.

“We all know this image so well, to subvert it and take it as our own- I liked that idea,”

Grace Peck

“I have personal experience in what it feels like to make a decision about abortion,” said Peck. “I look at my two kids now and I have them because I have had an abortion.”

Peck added that without the procedure she likely wouldn’t have the life she has today and because of that, she feels the responsibility to stand up for future generations to have the same right.

“I personally look at my daughter and I want her to have access to the same things that generations of women have had before her.”

Several organizations in Wyoming are working to do just that. One of which is Chelsea’s Fund, a Wyoming non-profit supporting abortion access.

Caitlin Shea, a local nurse practitioner has volunteered on the board of Chelsea’s Fund since 2016. The nonprofit helps fund abortions directly through clinics. They service people who live in Wyoming, Teton Valley and Eastern Idaho.

“We have so far to go in this state; ‘the Equality State’.”

Caitlin Shea

Shea explained that while the nonprofit’s mission hasn’t changed much, there has been an increase in those wanting to volunteer and donate.

“We’ve had a big influx of donations because we are more in the public eye,” said Shea.

In her professional role, Shea says she’s also seen some changes since Roe was overturned.

“As a nurse practitioner, I have seen a huge influx of patients who are wanting more reliable forms of contraception. These are called LARCS (Long-acting reversible contraception),” said Shea.

Shea sees an abortion ban as a huge loss in practice but also in how people who it would affect are treated.

“In Wyoming, it’s certainly a scary reality to have such absurd laws that impact people with uteruses so drastically. It feels very unempowering,” said Shea.

But tonight, organizers of the rally (Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, Act Now JH and Chelsea’s Fund) hope to provide a moment of collective community resistance.

“We’re fired-up, we’re powerful and we’re going to be loud. Let’s show Wyoming what we think of this trigger ban,” said Act Now JH.

This story was originally published on Buckrail News in July 2022.