Planned Parenthood of Montana sues to block Speaker’s abortion restriction bill
Planned Parenthood of Montana and its chief medical officer sued the state and the Department of Public Health and Human Services on Monday in an attempt to block a bill awaiting the governor’s signature that would ban a common abortion procedure and penalize medical professionals who provide them.
The lawsuit was filed in Lewis and Clark County District Court against the state, DPHHS and its director, Charlie Brereton, and asks a judge to issue restraining orders and injunctions barring the state from implementing House Bill 721, sponsored by House Speaker Matt Regier, R-Kalispell, should Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte sign the measure into law. The bill is one of several from Republicans seeking to restrict abortion access this session.
A legal review note attached to the bill in February noted that it “may raise a constitutional conformity issue” in that it “infringes upon a woman’s right to seek and obtain a pre-viability abortion” and conflicts with legal precedent.
The lawsuit from Planned Parenthood of Montana and its chief medical officer, Samuel Dickman, M.D., says that House Bill 721 taking effect would enact immediate and irreparable harm on people seeking abortions through dilation and evacuation procedures, which are often used in the second trimester for abortions and miscarriages.
The lawsuit says HB721 would create an effective ban on pre-viability abortions, which the plaintiffs argue is a violation of Montanans’ right to privacy under the state constitution. The bill will take effect immediately should it be signed by Gianforte.