HELENA — The Montana Supreme Court has upheld a district court decision, striking down three abortion-related laws passed by the 2021 Montana Legislature.
The laws had been challenged by Planned Parenthood of Montana, which argued the three laws were a violation of the state’s right to privacy. The laws have been on hold since 2021 after a preliminary injunction was granted in Planned Parenthood's favor.
The three laws are:
- House Bill 136, which would have banned abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, except when necessary to prevent serious health risk to the mother.
- House Bill 140, which would have required abortion providers to ask patients if they wanted to see an ultrasound of the fetus or listen to its heartbeat.
- House Bill 171, which would have put additional restrictions on abortion drugs, including requiring patients to make two in-person visits to a provider.
The 69-page opinion, written by Justice Beth Baker, said the laws violated the Montana Constitution’s right to privacy. Baker cited the Montana Supreme Court’s 1999 ruling, commonly known as the Armstrong decision, which stated that the state constitution’s right to privacy protected access to abortion before a fetus is viable.
“Armstrong thus explicitly and unequivocally acknowledged that the right of individual privacy—encompassing the right to personal and procreative autonomy—is protected separately under Montana’s right to privacy, a broader provision independent of federal law,” wrote Baker.
Gov. Greg Gianforte and Attorney General Austin Knudsen have argued the Armstrong case was wrongly decided, and the state again made that argument in this case.
(Read the full opinion)
Justice Jim Rice was the sole dissenter in the case, concluding that Armstrong had been wrongly decided, but had established an individual right that has been relied on for years. Rice argued that a narrower view of the privacy provision should be applied. He would have partially invalidated HB 171 as unconstitutional, while upholding the remainder, remanded HB 136 for a trial to resolve issues of fact, and upheld HB 140.
Planned Parenthood of Montana CEO and President Martha Fuller praised the ruling in a statement.
“The Court’s decision further protects what Montanans need and deserve: legal access to compassionate, timely abortion care, free from government interference," Fuller wrote. "At the same moment as this win for Montanans, anti-abortion politicians continue to threaten to decimate access to care by 'defunding' Planned Parenthood via the reconciliation bill before Congress, in an effort to shut down health centers who provide abortion and other reproductive care. Montanans agree that abortion should remain legal and accessible, and Planned Parenthood of Montana will always do whatever we can to ensure that patients in Montana have access to abortion care.”
The Montana Attorney General's office criticized the Montana Supreme Court ruling.
"This isn’t surprising. It’s another rubber stamp for Planned Parenthood from their allies on the Montana Supreme Court. And as the dissenting opinion correctly points out, 'the State’s vital role in protecting and preserving human life,' was ignored," said Emilee Cantrell, a spokesperson for the Department of Justice.
In 2024, Montana citizens passed CI-128, which made access to abortion a constitutional right. That constitutional initiative goes into effect on July 1, 2025.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with comments from Planned Parenthood of Montana and the Montana Department of Justice.
