Gov. Greg Gianforte on Tuesday signed four new laws restricting access to abortion. Those included an immediate ban on the most commonly used procedure to terminate pregnancy after 15 weeks, punishable by felony charges. An abortion provider is asking a judge to immediately block it.
The new laws restrict public dollars from going to abortion services, create new licensing requirements for clinics that offer abortions and ban dilation and evacuation procedures, with some exceptions for emergencies.
Gianforte said in a statement he’s proud of the new policies “that protect the lives of unborn babies in Montana.” The governor signed five other anti-abortion bills into law earlier this month. One, banning abortion at 24 weeks, has been temporarily blocked by a judge while a lawsuit plays out.
Planned Parenthood of Montana, the state’s largest abortion provider, asked a judge to block the ban on dilation and evacuation procedures. The organization originally filed suit against the proposal in April, attempting to block it before it went into effect. But the court ruled that request premature until it became law.
Planned Parenthood of Montana argues the law will cause irreparable harm and effectively end all elective abortions after 15 weeks. In a separate case last week, the Montana Supreme Court affirmed that the state’s right to privacy protects access to abortion and that access can’t be unduly hindered.
Planned Parenthood of Montana says it does not have any dilation and evacuation procedures scheduled for this week at its five clinics so no appointments have been canceled yet.
