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Your guide the 2024 Montana elections
Montana politics, elections and legislative news

Montana Supreme Court temporarily blocks abortion restrictions

The Montana Supreme Court upheld a temporary block Wednesday on laws that would restrict access to abortion while a lawsuit continues to play out in district court.

Montana abortion providers and the ACLU of Montana sued the state over the laws passed in 2023, saying they’re unconstitutional. The legislation would ban dilation and evacuation abortions, effectively ban medication abortions prescribed through telehealth and restrict Medicaid coverage of abortion.

A district court initially blocked the laws back in May of 2023, saying they likely violate the state right to privacy. Longstanding legal precedent in Montana has found that right prevents undue government interference in abortion access.

Gov. Greg Gianforte called one of the blocks on the Medicaid coverage restrictions “extreme.” He pointed to Justice Jim Rice’s lone dissenting opinion. The justice wrote that the restrictions on coverage for abortion concern government funding, not access to health care.

The majority ruling found that Medicaid coverage directly impacts access to health care for low-income patients.

A final decision from the district court on the laws’ constitutionality is still pending.

Shaylee covers state government and politics for Montana Public Radio. Please share tips, questions and concerns at 406-539-1677 or shaylee.ragar@mso.umt.edu.  
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