Montana judge declares 3 laws restricting abortion unconstitutional, including a 20-week limit
Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte signs a bill, April 26, 2021, that bans abortions after 20 weeks gestational age as bill sponsor Rep. Lola Sheldon-Galloway, R-Great Falls, looks on in Helena, Mont. A Montana judge ruled on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, that Sheldon-Galloway's bill and two others restricting abortion that were passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature in 2021 are unconstitutional. (Thom Bridge/Independent Record via AP, File)
HELENA (AP) — Three Montana laws restricting abortion access are unconstitutional, including a ban on abortions beyond 20 weeks of gestation, a state judge said in granting a motion for summary judgment filed by Planned Parenthood of Montana.
The 20-week ban and the two other laws passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature in 2021 — one that banned telehealth prescriptions of abortion medication and required a 24-hour waiting period after giving informed consent, and another that required providers to offer patients the option of viewing an ultrasound or listen to the fetal heart tone — had been blocked by a preliminary injunction that was granted in October 2021.
"We are relieved that Montanans will no longer live with the threat of these harmful restrictions taking effect," Martha Fuller, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Montana, said in a statement. But she said the organization's efforts continue, noting Montana's Legislature in 2023 passed another slate of bills seeking to limit abortion access.
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