Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen has asked the United States Supreme Court to intercede, after the state’s highest court struck down a law last summer that required parental consent before a minor’s abortion.
In August 2024, the Montana Supreme Court said that minors have a “right” to abortion, in a ruling that overturned the state’s law requiring parental consent — calling the law unconstitutional.
“A minor’s right to control her reproductive decisions is among the most fundamental of the rights she possesses,” Justice Laurie McKinnon wrote for the court at the time.
Knudsen is asking SCOTUS to take up the case, as he maintains that the parental consent law — which is standard in many states — falls under parental rights.
READ: Montana abortion businesses sue to avoid basic health and safety standards – and may succeed
“SCOTUS should hear the case and reverse the radical Montana Supreme Court’s bad decision allowing minors to receive abortions without parental consent,” Knudsen said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “A child’s right to privacy does not supersede a parent’s fundamental right to direct the care and upbringing of their child. Until we get clarity from the Supreme Court, the health and safety of young Montanans seeking abortions is at risk.”
Parental consent laws are also crucial in protecting minors from abuse and trafficking, as they make it harder for these abusers to bring their victims for abortions without a parent’s knowledge. Yet Planned Parenthood of Montana CEO Martha Fuller specifically mentioned the intent to hide abuse victims in her statement defending the law’s repeal — though what she didn’t mention was that Planned Parenthood has consistently and repeatedly failed to protect victims from their abusers.
“Planned Parenthood of Montana believes in the fundamental right to privacy for all patients in our state. Most Montanans who access abortion care, including young people, already involve their families in their decision. However, it is not always safe for every patient to do this, especially for those who are victims of rape and incest at the hands of a family member or family friend,” Fuller said. “It is deeply troubling and dangerous that the State of Montana and the Attorney General continue to attempt to invade every aspect of patients’ medical decisions.”
In various states discussing the repeal of parental notification or consent laws regarding abortion (like Montana as well as Virginia), many lawmakers claim that requiring notification could harm victims of incest at the hands of a parent or other family member. But judicial bypass has typically been allowed in states with parental notification/consent laws to allow for abortions in these rare cases of victimization, so the stated reasoning for repealing such laws is a red herring, and uses the rarest of instances to create a rule for all minors.
According to Fox News, at least four justices would have to agree to review the case in order for SCOTUS to hear it.
Tell President Trump, RFK, Jr., Elon, and Vivek:
Stop killing America’s future. Defund Planned Parenthood NOW!
