Groups add two more recently signed abortion law to legal challenge
Clinics and groups suing to stop the new laws include the American Civil Liberties Union of Montana, Planned Parenthood of Montana and the Center for Reproductive Rights. They argue that these new laws will limit a woman’s options so severely that it essentially makes it impossible to obtain an abortion. It also says that the laws discriminate against those on Medicaid.
House Bill 544 also limits access to abortion for Medicaid patients so severely as to make it impossible to obtain.
Attorneys have argued that restrictions are not only a violation of the state’s right to individual privacy, which has been held by the Montana Supreme Court to include decisions between a health provider and patient, but they also have argued that the new laws effectively treat citizens differently based on whether they have Medicaid or another form of insurance.
The two bills scheduled effective date is July 1, and the groups say if they become law, it will mean that any patient with Medicaid would be blocked from an abortion, and even if a medical provider performs one, it could subject them to strict penalties.
For example, the groups said the law redefines “medically necessary” to even further restrict abortion access for Medicaid patients.
The groups challenging the lawsuit issued the following joint statement early Thursday evening:
“Once again, Montana’s elected officials have proven they will stop at nothing to take away people’s health care and control their personal medical decisions — including by targeting the most marginalized populations. Should they be allowed to take effect, these two laws … will drastically undermine Montanans’ access to reproductive health care and put real lives at risk. All Montanans, regardless of their insurance status or circumstances, deserve vital, timely, and potentially life-saving care. We will not stop fighting for all Montanans and will continue to challenge politicians’ gross infringements on our rights and personal freedom. The ability to make decisions about one’s body, life, and future should remain in the hands of Montanans and their families — not the State.”