The complaint, filed in state district court in Missoula by the national American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal, Washington state-based Perkins Coie LLP and the ACLU of Montana, argues the policy “represents vast government overreach and will cause untold harms” if allowed to take effect.

“Patients and their medical providers should not have to jump through unnecessary, burdensome hoops in order to prove to bureaucrats why they need access to safe abortion care,” said Hillary-Anne Crosby, a community engagement advocate with the group. “We are disappointed that the DPHHS has chosen to pursue this path despite the immense opposition from those enrolled in Medicaid, health care providers, and others, and we will continue to fight for all Montanans’ constitutional right to abortion.”

The bill’s language specifically bans “dismemberment abortion,” a broadly defined, nonmedical term that has been the basis for similar prohibitions on D&E procedures in other states.

A legal note drafted by legislative staff states that HB 721 appears to prohibit all such procedures at any stage of pregnancy and could trigger a constitutional conflict by infringing on the right to seek a pre-viability abortion.

A deep-dive fiscal note requested by legislative Democrats and distributed Friday says Montana could lose “any, all or none” of its $7.5 billion federal special revenue authority — federal grants, in other words — if Senate Bill 458, legislation to define “sex” in Montana law, is enacted.

“Let’s face it, we are here today because some of you are uncomfortable looking at transgender people. So you are trying to make it harder for them to exist,” said Jessica Vangarderen Weingarten, a Belgrade mother with a transgender daughter.

Legislative staff attorneys also said the bill created “potential constitutional conformity issues” with the state Supreme Court’s 1999 ruling granting pre-viability abortion access from a chosen provider.

House Bill 432, brought by Rep. Laurie Bishop, D-Livingston, would align Montana’s code with past court rulings and existing constitutional rights that protect private medical choice, the sponsor said during Tuesday’s hearing before the House Judiciary Committee.

“This bill reflects where we are at this moment and is intended to clarify the current legal landscape in Montana,” Bishop said in her opening statement. “It codifies statutory protection for abortion that is consistent with the current state constitutional protection for abortion rights.”

Industry opponents included the Montana Medical Association, Montana Hospital Association, Montana chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Montana Nurses Association, the Montana Primary Care Association, Planned Parenthood of Montana and Blue Mountain Clinic, all of whom said the bill would undermine the medical profession’s obligation to act in the best interest of patients. The ACLU of Montana and the Montana Human Rights Network lodged additional opponent testimony, saying HB 303 would lead to patients being denied care “with impunity.”

Roughly 150 people gave passionate testimony Friday morning on Senate Bill 99, a proposal to ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors and restrict the use of public resources for medical and social transitions. After more than five hours of commentary, opponents outnumbered proponents by more than two-to-one.