WASHINGTON: Wyoming on Friday became the first US state to ban the use of abortion pills, the latest salvo in a campaign by conservative-led states to roll back access to abortion.

After signing the ban on abortion pills, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon appealed to legislators to act further by proposing a total ban on abortion be added to the state constitution and then putting it before voters for approval.

“I believe this question needs to be decided as soon as possible so that the issue of abortion in Wyoming can be finally resolved, and that is best done with a vote of the people,” the Republican governor said in a statement.

The Wyoming action comes amid a flurry of activity across the country by anti-abortion groups seeking to win a total ban on abortions following a landmark Supreme Court ruling last year.

Also looming is a ruling in a federal courtroom in Texas, where a judge is expected to decide imminently on a possible national ban on a widely used abortion pill. The pill, mifepristone, was approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration more than a decade ago and has been legally available for years.

Published in Dawn, March 19th, 2023