Montana’s Supreme Court has upheld a lower court’s ruling that temporarily blocks further restrictions on abortion.
Planned Parenthood in a statement Tuesday announced that the state’s Supreme Court has blocked three separate laws that were enacted during the state’s legislative session last year from taking effect.
The three laws included one that would have banned abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy; another that would have created numerous barriers to medication abortion; and a third that would have implemented a mandatory ultrasound offer and documentation requirement for those seeking an abortion.
A district court last September blocked those three laws from taking effect. Planned Parenthood’s Montana chapter filed the initial lawsuit challenging them.
“We are pleased that the Montana Supreme Court ruled today to uphold the preliminary injunction put in place by the District Court in the fall. This means that three anti-abortion laws remain unenforceable, including a 20-week ban,” Planned Parenthood’s Montana chapter president and CEO Martha Stahl said in a statement.
“The Court upheld the Armstrong decision, which the State had requested be overturned, and abortion remains legal in Montana, protected by our constitutional right to privacy. This is a victory for our right to make personal medical decisions, free from the interference of government.”
The decision in Montana comes after Kansas voters last week soundly rejected an effort by Republicans in the state to strip abortion rights from the state constitution.
Last month, a federal judge in Louisiana ruled that abortion services in the state can resume, blocking the state legislature from enforcing its so-called trigger ban.
