The Montana Supreme Court ruled against a law on Wednesday that requires parental consent for minors to obtain an abortion.
The ruling sides with Planned Parenthood, which challenged a 2013 statute called the “Parental Consent for Abortion Act of 2013,” according to the court ruling. Justice Laurie McKinnon, who delivered the court’s opinion, wrote in the ruling that the “classification created by the Legislature” violated a minor’s right “to control her body.”
Read More
The Montana Supreme Court heard oral arguments this week in the state’s appeal of a case that is so far one of the only successful climate cases of dozens that activists, states, and local governments have filed against government agencies and oil companies.
The case, Held v. Montana, involves 16 young plaintiffs who were organized by the anti-fossil fuel nonprofit Our Children’s Trust to sue the state of Montana for allegedly violating the kids’ constitutional rights to a clean and healthy environment by permitting oil, gas and coal projects in the state without regard to their impacts on global warming.
Read More
Following the 2020 presidential election, which faced allegations of mass voter fraud from former President Donald Trump and his supporters, many states moved to restricting mail-in or absentee voting practices.
The Montana Supreme Court struck down multiple voting reform laws on Wednesday, declaring them unconstitutional.
Read More
A Montana judge ruled Thursday that three of the state’s laws limiting abortion were unconstitutional, according to the Daily Montanan.
The laws banned abortion after 20 weeks and by way of telehealth services, as well as required a 24-hour waiting period and two ultrasounds. District Court Judge Kurt Krueger sided with Planned Parenthood of Montana, who filed the lawsuit, arguing that the government should not be able to “infringe” on bodily autonomy any more than it can force someone to have an abortion, according to the Daily Montanan.
Read More
A Montana think tank and special interest groups have filed an amicus brief in the state supreme court case known as Held v. Montana.
The coalition is asking the Montana Supreme Court to overrule a lower court’s decision that struck down recent changes to state environmental permitting laws and said 16 minors had standing to sue over Montana’s contribution to climate change.
Read More