Abortion-rights advocates are asking the Montana Supreme Court to force the secretary of state to allow signature-collecting to begin on a ballot initiative. It’s the latest in a fast-moving legal back-and-forth ahead of a June deadline to collect signatures needed to certify the constitutional initiative to protect abortion access for the ballot.
Republican Senate President Jason Ellsworth on Tuesday subpoenaed Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen to send the initiative’s language to a legislative committee. There, lawmakers would have up to two weeks to perform a legislative review.
But, state Supreme Court justices suggested in a recent opinion Jacobsen could certify the initiative without legislative input.
Plaintiffs asked the court to clarify the status of the initiative by the end of Wednesday.
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In Montana, abortion access has been at times illegal, legal, and stuck in limbo. Providers have weathered bombings and arson, advocates and opponents have battled it out in court, and citizens have passed a constitutional amendment affirming a woman's right to choose. One listener wants to know more about the history of reproductive rights in Montana. MTPR's Aaron Bolton reports on the underground networks, political violence and landmark court cases that got us to where we are today. -
A conservative group is suing the state over a 2024 ballot initiative enshrining abortion access in the Montana Constitution. And Montanans will soon be able to apply for a property tax rebate approved by state lawmakers earlier this year. -
Montana’s newest constitutional right took effect this month — the right to terminate a pregnancy. A challenge to its legality is trying to find footing. -
The Montana Supreme Court Monday threw out three abortion-related laws passed in 2021. The justices ruled the laws violated the right to privacy outlined in the state Constitution.
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A Helena judge struck down several laws restricting abortion access and ruled they’re unconstitutional. The laws and one state health department rule were adopted by Republican policymakers in 2023. -
Montana lawmakers are once again considering bills that would restrict abortion access. Some of the legislation may directly conflict with the state’s new voter-approved constitutional right to abortion.
