Where does Montana stand on abortion? What are our laws? What can we do? Find it all in this article.
Roe v. Wade Has Been Overturned, Now What?
On January 22, 1973, Roe v. Wade became a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States granted the right to have an abortion. Any decision made by The U.S. Supreme Court, which is a federal court, is binding on all state courts, when the decision made is an issue of federal law.
Constitutional interpretation is an issue of federal law and when an interpretation of the Constitution is decided upon by The Supreme Court, that decision becomes a "precedent". In essence, a decision of interpretation made by The Supreme Court becomes the foundational interpretation of the Constitution that either gives certain rights to the people of the United States, or takes certain rights away.
Therefore, the Roe v. Wade decision that the right to have an abortion is legally protected under the Constitution set the precedent that all women in the United States have a right to an abortion, no matter what state laws were in place. This decision was binding on all state jurisdictions.
This means that, even if Montana did not allow the right to have an abortion, the federal decision of this court case in 1973 overruled that State decision - no matter what.
As of June 24, 2022, the Roe v. Wade decision from 1973 has been overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. This means that The Supreme Court has revisited the court case named Roe v. Wade that originally set the precedent which federally legalized abortion and decided that, in fact, the right to have an abortion is NOT protected under the U.S. Constitution.
The overturning of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in 1973 has meant that each state once again has the power to enact its own rulings and laws around how to, or not to, regulate abortion.
This is an historic moment in history and leaves many in Montana with questions: Is abortion over in Montana? What are our current abortion laws? Do we have any? What happens now?
Given that Montana once again has the legal right to decide if abortion should be legal in our state or not, we also have the responsibility to be aware of what our current laws and regulations are concerning abortion rights. That is what this article and many others on this site aim to educate us on.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
ABORTION IS STILL FULLY LEGAL IN MONTANA
As of June 2021, Montana is one of 10 states that, through court rulings, has determined that there is a state constitutional right to abortion.
There are 7 abortion clinics across Montana.
Locations: Whitefish, Missoula (2 clinics), Billings (2 clinics), Great Falls and Helena.
5 of the 7 are Planned Parenthood clinics (Missoula, Billings (2 clinics), Great Falls, and Helena).
2 are private clinics (Whitefish and Missoula).
All 7 locations offer medical abortion (Mifeprex/mifepristone aka RU-486).
2 of the 7 that offer medical abortion also allow self-managed at home abortions using this drug.
4 locations offer aspirtion or surgical abortions (though one is curenlty, temporarily closed):
Whitefish (up to 12 weeks)
Billings Heights (up to 18 weeks; currently, temporarily closed)
Helena (up to 20 weeks)
Missoula (up to 21 weeks)
IN 2021, SEVERAL MEASURES WERE SIGNED INTO LAW IN MONTANA.
IN 2022, ALL OF THESE LAWS WERE BLOCKED DUE TO PLANNED PARENTHOOD SUING THE STATE OF MONTANA OVER THESE LAWS.
To learn about Montana’s Current Abortion Laws in detail click here.
For more information on these topics please email abortignorancemt@gmail.com.
If you or a loved one has suffered from the pain of an abortion and are in need of counsel and healing, please email nevertoolatemt@gmail.com to gain access to loving support and resources. Abortion affects men, women, and families. No story is too small to be hidden.
© 2022
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