The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has dismissed Guam Attorney General Doug Moylan’s appeal to reinstate the 1990 law banning abortion on the island.

The ban, which makes no exceptions for incest or rape, was initially denied by the Guam District Court in march 2023.

Separately, Governor Lou Leon Guerrero filed action in the Guam Supreme Court to determine if the ban was repealed by subsequent laws.

In October 2023, they ruled that it had.

AG Moylan then filed another petition to the U.S. Supreme Court requested review of the Guam court's decision.

It was also denied in October 2024.

Despite these prior outcomes, AG Moylan has continued his appeal to the 9th Circuit, hiring off-island attorneys under a contract worth more than one million dollars, according to Adelup. 

The 9th Circuit has now dismissed the appeal as moot, citing the Guam Supreme Court’s ruling.

Governor Lou Leon Guerrero said this decision, “Ensures that the power to make important medical decisions regarding reproductive healthcare remains with the people who know what is best for every individual’s circumstances – the women themselves, their families, and their doctors.”