Wyoming bill protecting pregnancy centers advances

CHEYENNE — The Wyoming Legislature’s Joint Labor, Health and Social Services Committee voted to sponsor a controversial bill aimed at protecting the autonomy and mission of Wyoming’s pregnancy centers, setting up a likely highly contested debate during the upcoming budget session.

The bill, titled “Wyoming Pregnancy Center Autonomy and Rights of Expression (CARE) Act,” passed the committee Thursday by a vote of 10-2. The legislation seeks to shield nonprofit pregnancy centers, which sometimes counsel against abortion, from being targeted by state or local governmental entities based on their ethics.

The core of the proposed statute prohibits the state or any political subdivision — including counties and cities — from enacting laws, ordinances or policies that would interfere with a preg