I believe unborn human life has inherent worth and deserves protection. I also believe pregnancy can present extraordinarily difficult circumstances involving a woman’s health and life, developing human life, medical judgment, constitutional rights, and the proper limits of government.
I don’t believe we have to deny either of those realities to have a serious conversation about reproductive policy.
I do not promote or celebrate abortion, nor do I believe it is morally inconsequential. I want fewer abortions, not more. At the same time, reasonable people can disagree over when and how government should intervene—and how we protect unborn life while respecting constitutional limits and accounting for difficult medical circumstances.
Those are the principles that shape my position.
The Role of Government
I believe government has a responsibility to protect developing human life. I also believe there are constitutional limits to when and how government should intervene in a pregnancy.
That isn’t an abstract question in Wyoming. Our Legislature enacted the Human Heartbeat Act, and our courts are now determining whether it complies with the Wyoming Constitution. The law is currently blocked while that challenge proceeds.
Whatever the courts ultimately decide, a legislator still has a responsibility to work within the constitutional framework and determine what protections for unborn life can lawfully and responsibly be enacted.
Wyoming voters, including Republicans, hold differing views about these constitutional and policy questions. I respect those disagreements. I understand that means I will not agree with every plank of the Wyoming Republican Party platform as it has evolved on this issue.
A party platform can state a principle. A legislator still has to evaluate an actual law: what it prohibits, what exceptions it recognizes, how physicians are expected to apply it in an emergency, what consequences it may create, and whether it complies with the Constitution.
Those aren’t excuses for avoiding a moral question. They are the work of governing.
If we genuinely want fewer abortions, we should also work to reduce the circumstances that lead women to believe abortion is their only realistic option. That means supporting parents and strengthening families, improving access to prenatal and maternal care, supporting adoption and community resources, and creating the conditions in which Wyoming families can build stable lives and raise their children here.
Protecting life means caring about unborn children, the mothers carrying them, and the families who will raise them.
The Responsibility of Representation
For me, this issue comes down to one of the hardest responsibilities of conservative government: protecting life and liberty when legitimate interests come into conflict.
Conservatives believe government has a duty to protect innocent life. We also believe government power has limits. I believe both principles apply here.
If elected, I will listen to the people I represent, including women and families who have faced difficult pregnancies, as well as physicians, advocates working to protect unborn life, and constitutional experts. I will consider both intended and unintended consequences and exercise my best judgment.
On an issue where Wyoming voters hold deeply felt and differing views, no legislator can expect every decision to satisfy everyone.
But I can promise to approach it seriously, listen carefully, and be accountable for my decisions.
I believe unborn life deserves protection. I believe women facing difficult pregnancies deserve compassion, dignity, and appropriate medical care. And I believe government has both responsibilities and limits.
All three deserve to be considered with honesty, humility, and careful judgment.