Montana
Decade-long legal challenge to abortion consent law reaches Montana Supreme Court
HELENA — On Wednesday, the Montana Supreme Court heard arguments in a decade-long case, challenging a law that would require parental consent before a minor could get an abortion.
In 2013, the Montana Legislature passed House Bill 391, which prohibited anyone under 18 from getting an abortion without notarized written consent from their parent or legal guardian. Exceptions would be allowed in a medical emergency or if a minor successfully petitioned a court to waive the requirement.
The bill became law without the signature of then-Gov. Steve Bullock, but it never went into effect, as Planned Parenthood of Montana sued over it and the office of then-Attorney General Tim Fox accepted a preliminary injunction. Over the following years, the case passed through several district court judges, eventually ending up with District Judge Chris Abbott of Helena. Last year, he ruled the law was invalid because it infringed on the right to privacy in the Montana Constitution.
Attorney General Austin Knudsen’s office appealed Abbott’s decision, saying he used the wrong standard when judging the law. Abbott applied “strict scrutiny,” meaning the state had to show a compelling interest to justify the law and that it was narrowly tailored to achieve its goal.
Deputy solicitor general Brent Mead told justices Wednesday that the law should be analyzed differently because the Montana Constitution grants the state more authority to make laws that affect the rights of people under the age of 18. He said that means the Armstrong decision – the 1999 Montana Supreme Court ruling that said abortion was covered under the state constitution’s right of privacy – doesn’t apply in full here.
“Under Article 2, Section 15, a minor’s rights can be infringed if the law is designed to protect them,” said Mead. “And so in this case, the full Article 2, Section 10 – the right to privacy – doesn’t attach because the law is designed to protect them in that protected interest.”
Mead said the court should instead balance the individual rights of the minor with the rights of their parents and the state’s legitimate interest in protecting minors.
Justices questioned Mead on why strict scrutiny should not apply in this case, and whether the consent requirement was the least restrictive method possible, given an earlier law that only required a parent be notified – which also faced a lawsuit. Mead said the law was intended to resolve a loophole in the parental notification law and the two shouldn’t be directly contrasted.
Attorneys representing Planned Parenthood said Wednesday that Abbott did use the proper standard when deciding the case. They said, under strict scrutiny, the state would have to point to a legitimate health or safety risk to justify the law as a protection for minors, and they hadn’t done so.
Attorney Tanis Holm said the parental consent requirement would apply only to abortion, not to a variety of other procedures.
“Whatever interest the state has in promoting parental authority must be exercised neutrally, not as to favor childbirth over abortion, and certainly not to step in the shoes of parents to regulate the family relationship,” she said. “That is what the state is doing here.”
In questioning Holm, Justice Laurie McKinnon said that the court’s decision in a case last year had established a precedent that abortions are generally safe.
As is typical, the court took no immediate action after Wednesday’s arguments. Justice Beth Baker presided over the hearing in place of Chief Justice Mike McGrath, who recused himself from the case. Baker said the court would release their decision in due course.
This isn’t the only abortion-related case the Supreme Court is considering right now. They’ve also received an appeal, challenging a ruling from Knudsen’s office that blocked a ballot measure that would specifically protect access to abortion in the Montana Constitution. The office said the proposed amendment violated Montana’s requirement that unrelated constitutional changes be voted on separately.
DILLON, Mont. — Low oxygen levels and excess nutrients led the Montana Department of Environmental Quality to officially determine that the Big Hole River is impaired, state officials said.
The conditions are affecting aquatic life and recreation along parts of the river. Officials said the nutrients can fuel algae and plant growth, especially during hot, low-water conditions.
The Big Hole has been the focus of water quality restoration efforts for decades, with more than $1.3 million in federal Clean Water Act funding invested since 1988.
The impairment will be included in DEQ’s next water quality report. Restoration work and funding for the watershed will continue.
In these Montana towns a stranger rarely stays a stranger for long. Shopkeepers in Philipsburg know their regulars by name. Bigfork neighbors fill the same theater seats every summer. Livingston locals still swap trail tips with visitors over coffee. The welcome here comes from people who greet newcomers like they belong. These eight communities show what small-town Montana hospitality looks like up close.
Whitefish
Whitefish sits within an hour of Glacier National Park, and that proximity shapes everything about the town. Central Avenue runs on covered Old West walkways lined with local shops, restaurants, and galleries, and the crowd shifts with the seasons as skiers give way to summer hikers.
Glacier National Park draws visitors with hundreds of miles of hiking trails, alpine lakes, and the scenic Going-to-the-Sun Road. Closer to town, Whitefish Lake offers public beaches, boat rentals, paddleboarding, and fishing during the warmer months. When winter arrives, Whitefish Mountain Resort becomes the area’s main attraction, with ski runs, snowboarding terrain, and gondola rides overlooking the Flathead Valley. Even after a day outdoors, many visitors return to downtown Whitefish to browse local shops or settle in at the town’s restaurants and breweries.
Bigfork
Sitting on the northeastern shore of Flathead Lake, Bigfork pairs a working harbor with a downtown built around its artists. Galleries and studios cluster within a few walkable blocks, and the water is never out of sight for long.
Flathead Lake is the town’s biggest draw, with boating, kayaking, fishing, and swimming on the largest natural freshwater lake west of the Mississippi River in the lower 48 states. Just offshore, Wild Horse Island State Park lets visitors hike among native wildlife, including wild horses, bighorn sheep, bald eagles, and mule deer. Theater lovers can catch a Broadway-style production at Bigfork Summer Playhouse, which has staged live performances for decades. Before leaving town, visitors can browse the independently owned galleries and studios showcasing paintings, sculptures, ceramics, and other work by Montana artists.
Philipsburg
Philipsburg made its money in silver, and the painted storefronts along Broadway Street date to those boom years. The old buildings now hold local businesses, and the mining past is easy to trace from one block to the next.
A visit to Gem Mountain Sapphire Mine lets visitors sift through mining gravel for Montana sapphires, many of which can be cut into finished gemstones. Just outside town, Granite Ghost Town State Park preserves the remains of a silver mining community, with abandoned buildings that mark the region’s boom years. Those interested in local history can stop at the Granite County Museum, where exhibits cover the area’s mining industry and early settlement. Before leaving, many visitors make time for The Sweet Palace, a candy store that has become one of the town’s signature stops.
Livingston
Livingston sits on the Yellowstone River and serves as a northern gateway to Yellowstone National Park. Restored commercial buildings house an active arts scene, and the Absaroka Range rises just south of the rooflines.
The historic downtown works as the town’s main visitor area, with independent bookstores, outfitters, cafes, and long-standing local businesses inside restored commercial buildings. At the Yellowstone Gateway Museum, exhibits trace the region’s history through Indigenous presence, railroad expansion, and early settlement in the Yellowstone Valley. Small galleries across the downtown core show work by regional artists whose subjects often reflect the river valley and the mountains around it.
Red Lodge
Red Lodge marks the start of the Beartooth Highway, one of the highest paved roads in the country. Its compact, walkable downtown keeps locally owned shops and restaurants busy in every season.
The Beartooth Highway climbs into the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness and continues toward Yellowstone National Park, with steep mountain passes, alpine lakes, and long-range views. In winter, Red Lodge Mountain becomes a major recreation area for skiing and snowboarding, with terrain that draws residents and visitors alike. During the warmer months, hiking trails in the surrounding mountains open onto forests, ridgelines, and wildlife viewing areas. Downtown Red Lodge stays active year-round, with local businesses and historic buildings packed into a walkable core.
Choteau
Choteau sits where the prairie meets the Rocky Mountain Front, and dinosaurs put it on the map. Fossil beds nearby produced some of the most important dinosaur nesting discoveries in North America, and the town leans into that history.
At the Old Trail Museum, exhibits cover the region’s natural history, including fossil finds and artifacts tied to its prehistoric past. The surrounding country is known for wildlife viewing, with elk, deer, and many bird species in the foothills and open plains near town. Just outside Choteau, fossil sites linked to major dinosaur discoveries have built the area’s reputation in paleontology research. The Rocky Mountain Front opens onto hiking routes and wide viewpoints where the plains give way to the peaks.
Stevensville
Stevensville is the oldest permanent settlement in Montana, founded in 1841 as St. Mary’s Mission. It sits in the Bitterroot Valley between the Bitterroot and Sapphire mountains, and the town center still runs at a slower pace.
St. Mary’s Mission is the town’s most significant landmark, preserving the mission’s early buildings and marking the first permanent Euro-American settlement in what became Montana. The Bitterroot Valley around Stevensville is known for its orchards, farmland, and mountain views, and it serves as a corridor to nearby communities and recreation areas. Local boutiques and small shops fill a compact town center that reflects its long history. Hiking trails in the nearby foothills reach forested terrain, open meadows, and views of the Bitterroot Mountains, drawing the most traffic during the warmer months.
Virginia City
Virginia City boomed after an 1863 gold strike in Alder Gulch, and much of that town survived. Wooden boardwalks, original storefronts, and period buildings still line the Main Street, so a walk here doubles as a walk through the 1860s.
Historic structures throughout the town can be toured to see how miners, shopkeepers, and early settlers lived during the gold rush era. Several small museums and preserved buildings cover mining equipment, frontier life, and local governance during the 1800s. Costumed interpreters run seasonal reenactments as well, recreating daily routines and events from Virginia City’s early years.
Small Towns Worth the Detour
These eight towns show how much Montana packs into its smaller communities. Livingston and Whitefish put national parks within reach of a walkable downtown, while Philipsburg and Virginia City keep their mining-era streets intact and open to visitors. Choteau turns fossil country into a point of local pride, and Stevensville carries the state’s oldest roots. Anyone looking for genuine small-town hospitality will find plenty of it across these Montana communities.
The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at July 9, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from July 9 drawing
08-21-24-29, Bonus: 16
Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from July 9 drawing
02-15-22-54-58, Bonus: 04
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
When are the Montana Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 9 p.m. MT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Lucky For Life: 8:38 p.m. MT daily.
- Lotto America: 9 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Big Sky Bonus: 7:30 p.m. MT daily.
- Powerball Double Play: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Montana Cash: 8 p.m. MT on Wednesday and Saturday.
- Millionaire for Life: 9:15 p.m. MT daily.
Missed a draw? Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Great Falls Tribune editor. You can send feedback using this form.
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