Court temporarily blocks new Montana abortion ban

Montana’s ban on a second-trimester abortion procedure was temporarily blocked by a state court on Thursday.

District Judge Mike Menahan granted Planned Parenthood of Montana’s request for a temporary restraining order on the enforcement of a law that bans dilation and evacuation abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

Dilation and evacuation is the most common surgical abortion method during the second trimester. 

Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte signed the bill on Tuesday, and it took effect immediately. Medical practitioners found to have violated the law would be guilty of a felony and could be subject to a $50,000 fine and up to 10 years in prison.

Menahan, however, found that the ban cannot be enforced because it likely violates the Montana Constitution. 

“Whereas plaintiffs and their patients face immediate, irreparable harm, defendants will not be harmed by the issuance of a temporary restraining order that preserves the status quo,” he wrote in the short order. 

A hearing on abortion providers’ request for a preliminary injunction is scheduled for Tuesday.

Access to abortion in Montana has been guaranteed under a 1999 state Supreme Court decision that found the state constitution’s guaranteed right to privacy allowed women to have an abortion before fetal viability.

“We’re glad the district court has once again recognized the grave harm these anti-abortion laws will have on people seeking basic health care and stepped in to grant this much-needed relief,” said Martha Fuller, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Montana.

Menahan had previously granted the organization a restraining order blocking a new law that required all patients in Montana to undergo an ultrasound before getting an abortion, and separately also blocked a rule that put sharp restrictions on using Medicaid funds to cover abortions.

Hearings on those challenged abortion restrictions are also scheduled for Tuesday.