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.
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The two main candidates for governor spar over property taxes, housing costs, and abortion. And the two candidates for the western district congressional race tussle over the same issues in recent debates.
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More than 250 Montana health care providers have signed a letter in support of protecting abortion access in the upcoming election.
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Abortion rights advocates are asking Montana voters to add protections for abortion access into the state Constitution.
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Health care clinics are suing the state over new regulations for abortion providers.
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Abortion clinics will now be required to be licensed by the state. State health officials announced they are adopting the rules.