A Montana judge has struck down three laws protecting preborn children in the state, including a law restricting abortion to the first 20 weeks of pregnancy.
In his ruling, District Court Judge Kurt Krueger struck down House Bill 136, which restricts abortions past 20 weeks, House Bill 171, which covers several provisions including a 24-hour waiting period for chemical abortions and a ban on telehealth abortions, and House Bill 140, which would have required doctors to offer an ultrasound before an abortion. All three laws were passed by lawmakers in 2021 and subsequently blocked by a preliminary injunction imposed in October 2021. With Kreuger’s ruling, the injunction against the laws becomes permanent.
In his ruling, Krueger maintained that a 1999 Montana Supreme Court ruling established a woman’s right to obtain a pre-viability abortion. In striking down each of the three laws, he said the restrictions had no basis in medical science and they infringed on a woman’s constitutional “right” to abortion. He decried commonsense safety measures, like making sure a woman sees a doctor in person before receiving the abortion pill. Live Action News has detailed some of the risks of the ‘no test’ abortion pill protocol in this article.
“[House Bill 171] violates the right to privacy by imposing numerous and severe burdens on patients and providers, which lack a basis in demonstrable medical science and do not apply to any other medical treatment,” he wrote. “The state produced no discovery showing the risks of telehealth administered medication abortion versus in-person. Moreover, the state admits that Montana law does not expressly authorize or prohibit telehealth for any other medical provider.”
The ruling was swiftly praised by the abortion industry. “As we celebrate today, we will continue to build on this win to fight for equitable abortion access in Montana and beyond,” said Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
Emilee Cantrell, a spokesperson for Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, has said Knudsen plans on appealing the decision. “Attorney General Knudsen remains committed to protecting the health and safety of women and unborn babies in Montana,” she said in a statement.
There are currently other pro-life laws in the state that are being challenged in the courts, including 2023 laws that would prohibit dilation and evacuation (D&E) abortions (sometimes referred to as dismemberment abortions), would require prior authorization before Medicaid will cover abortions, and would require abortionists to be either physicians or physicians assistants.
