Court Asked To Block Montana Abortion Law

A federal court was asked Friday to strike down a new Montana law requiring that a parent or guardian be notified before a girl under 18 can obtain an abortion.

The state legislator who sponsored the bill said he is confident it will withstand the challenge.

Seven Montana physicians and a physician’s assistant asked U.S. District Judge James Battin, in Billings, to declare the new law unconstitutional on the basis of an earlier ruling. In that earlier decision, Battin permanently blocked enforcement of Montana’s previous requirement for parental notification.

Based on an agreement with Montana’s attorney general, Battin struck down the old law in December 1993. He said the law did not contain a mechanism by which a young woman could petition a court to bypass the requirement that one of her parents be notified before she could receive an abortion.

Battin approved a settlement of the 1993 lawsuit, in which the state agreed that the parental notification requirement then in effect was unconstitutional and not enforceable.

The new law, signed by Gov. Marc Racicot on April 15, does contain a “judicial bypass” mechanism. A young woman can seek to waive the parental-notice requirement by filing a petition in Youth Court.

Those challenging the law argue that the provision is meaningless because the Montana Youth Court Act requires automatic notice to the parents when any minor is involved in a proceeding.

The law also provides that if a young woman seeks a waiver of notification because of physical, sexual or emotional abuse by a parent, the state must investigate her home life - effectively notifying her parents of her decision to have an abortion, the plaintiffs argued.

“In its eagerness to limit access to abortion services, the Montana Legislature has trampled on the constitutional rights of young women,” said Simon Heller, staff attorney at the Center for Reproductive Law and Policy in New York City, which is representing the Montana plaintiffs.

“By attempting to mandate parental involvement in every young woman’s abortion decision, the Legislature has ignored the realities of families,” Heller said.