Global Courant 2023-04-11 18:30:42
Planned Parenthood of Montana filed a preemptive lawsuit Monday to end legislation that would ban the most commonly used second-trimester abortion method, arguing that the proposed law is unconstitutional.
The nonprofit filed the complaint about the proposal to ban dilatation and evacuation abortions before the bill was forwarded to Republican Governor Greg Gianforte. The organization asked the court to at least temporarily block the legislation, as it would take effect immediately upon signing and cause irreparable harm to its patients.
The lawsuit came on the same day the U.S. Justice Department appealed a Texas court ruling that would stop approving the most common method of abortion in the U.S., calling the decision “extraordinary and unprecedented.”
The request to the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals was filed just days after conflicting court rulings over the legality of the abortion medication mifepristone called into question access to the drug, which has been widely available for more than 20 years.
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The Montana Supreme Court ruled in 1999 that the state’s constitutional right to privacy includes the right to a pre-viability abortion by a provider of your choice, the Montana lawsuit argues.
“Despite our state constitution clearly protecting the right to abortion and the continued calls of Montanans for bodily autonomy and personal freedom, our legislators remain determined to ban abortion method by method, law by law,” said Martha Fuller, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood. of Montana, said in a statement. “Banning one of the safest and most common methods of abortion is putting lives at risk.”
Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte signs a bill restricting access to abortion in Montana while State Representative Lola Sheldon-Galloway watches in Helena, Montana, on April 26, 2021. Montana’s Planned Parenthood filed a preemptive lawsuit on April 10, 2023 to stop legislation which would prohibit a common method of abortion. (Thom Bridge/independent recording via AP, file)
The governor’s office criticized the timing of the trial.
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“The fact that the bill hasn’t even made it to the governor’s desk for its review and Planned Parenthood is already going to court tells Montanans everything they need to know about the far-left, pro-abortion group and its extreme tactics,” Kaitlin Price, a Gianforte spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
The bill, sponsored by Republican House Speaker Matt Regier, threatens medical providers with a fine of up to $50,000 and up to 10 years in prison for performing this type of abortion. It is also trying to legislate that Montana’s constitutional right to privacy does not include the right to an abortion.
The speaker’s father, Republican Senator Keith Regier, is also sponsoring legislation to overturn the 1999 Supreme Court ruling. That bill passed the Senate and is scheduled for a second reading vote in the House on Wednesday.
Legislative attorneys said both bills could have potential problems in complying with the state’s constitution.
The Planned Parenthood complaint, filed in state court in Helena, names the state of Montana and its health department as defendants.
A spokesman for Attorney General Austin Knudsen said the lawsuit is an attempt to “hijack the courts and disrupt the legislative process.”
“The legislature and the governor must be free to carry out the work of the people without the intervention of the courts,” spokesman Emily Flower said in a statement that also questioned the timing of the complaint.
“Now what – Planned Parenthood is suing to prevent the legislature from considering a bill that touches on the subject of abortion?” Cantrell asked.
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Montana lawmakers are also considering a bill to require pre-authorization before Medicaid or the state’s Children’s Health Insurance Program would pay for abortions and another to ban state funding entirely unless the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest or life threatened by the mother. There will also be a bill to ban the abortion of viable fetuses.
Gianforte signed three bills in 2021 that affect abortion: one to ban abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy, another to limit access to abortion pills, and a third to require abortion providers to ask patients if they want an ultrasound of the fetus want to see. Those laws remain blocked by the courts.
