Judge Overturns Montana’s Abortion Notification Law

A new Montana law requiring that a parent or guardian be told before a girl under 18 can get an abortion was thrown out Wednesday as an unconstitutional burden on the right to an abortion.

The attorney general’s office said it will appeal the decision to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

U.S. District Judge James Battin of Billings said the law wrongly limits a girl’s ability to get around the notice requirement by demanding she prove to a Youth Court judge that informing her parents is not in her best interest.

A girl must be able to bypass notification by simply showing that an abortion is in her best interest, something the law does not allow a judge to consider, Battin said.

Citing rulings by other courts, he said that “a minor must have an opportunity to show not just that notification is not in her best interest, but that having an abortion is in her best interest.”

Montana’s law “places an undue burden upon the right of a minor, who is able to show that abortion is in her best interests, to obtain an abortion without parental involvement,” Battin concluded.

The decision, which prevents the law from taking effect Sunday, was praised and condemned by those in the abortion debate.

An attorney for one of those challenging the law said the ruling proves the 1995 Legislature went too far in passing the measure.

“In its zeal to restrict access to abortion, the Montana Legislature again overstepped its bounds and trampled the constitutional rights of young women,” said Simon Heller, lawyer for The Center for Reproductive Law and Policy in New York.

“Although most young women should and do consult their parents concerning a pregnancy, forcing all young women to do so ignores the tragic realities of some families, with dire consequences,” he said.

Joan McCracken, executive direc tor for Planned Parenthood in Montana, applauded the ruling.

“What a wise man Judge Battin is to recognize the unique position a minor finds herself in when she’s pregnant,” she said. “Our experience is that any woman - whether she is 14 or 24 or 34 - only that woman can really decide for herself whether she wants to continue a pregnancy or not.”

Richard Tappe, executive director of Montana Right to Life, said he was disappointed Battin overturned the entire law instead of the provision.

“It is incredible to me that we continue to see courts rendering decisions on abortion that fly in the face of the expressed will of the legislatures and the people of individual states,” he said.

Republican Rep. Duane Grimes of Clancy, chief sponsor of the notification bill, believes the judicial bypass in the law is constitutional and will be upheld by a higher court.

“This is a tragedy for parents’ rights - saying a minor can have major surgery without even having to notify the parents,” he said.