Latest news with #Menahan
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Court strikes down bills that placed ‘unnecessary' hurdles to abortion
Gov. Greg Gianforte claps before signing five abortion laws on May 3, 2023. (Photo by Nicole Girten/Daily Montanan) A state district court judge has ruled that two bills which would make abortions more complicated or illegal in Montana are unconstitutional and has ordered them stricken from the books. The bills were both passed by the Montana Legislature in 2023, which had a supermajority of Republican lawmakers. The bills were signed by Gov. Greg Gianforte and touted as a part of protecting families and uplifting 'pro-life' policies. Planned Parenthood of Montana challenged the two bills, led by attorney Raph Graybill. House Bill 575 would have forced physicians or physician assistants to make a 'determination of viability' in writing, and would have required an ultrasound before any abortion procedure. House Bill 721 would have prohibited 'surgical abortion' which includes the 'dilation and evacuation' procedure except in cases of medical emergency. Currently, providers in the state offer this option through 21 weeks and six days. No Montana provider currently offers third-trimester abortions, and the procedure is allowed in the state until the point of fetal viability except in cases where it's medically necessary or to protect the life of the mother. Even though Montana voters overwhelmingly approved protecting the right to access abortion by passing Constitutional Amendment 118 in November, Lewis and Clark County District Court Judge Mike Menahan said that well established case law in Montana has 'consistently reaffirmed this 'fundamental right to access abortion care.'' Quoting from the landmark 1999 case, Armstrong vs. State of Montana, Menahan said, 'The Legislature may only restrict the 'right of choice in making personal healthcare decisions and in exercising personal autonomy to preserve the safety, health and welfare of a particular class of patients or the general public from a medically acknowledged bona fide health risk.' The state justified the law by arguing requiring an additional ultrasound to the procedure placed a minimal burden on pregnant women because ultrasound technology is so common. Menahan rejected that argument, saying the process wasn't medically justified or, in many cases, is not practical. 'This argument does not overcome plaintiffs' contention the statute creates an additionally medically unnecessary barrier to abortion care,' the court ruling said. Meanwhile, Menahan said there are plenty of reasons that Planned Parenthood presented as to why the new regulations, including in-person visits or other health concerns, could block access as well as put the patient's life at risk. 'Plaintiffs have also provided evidence of patients unable to attend in-person appointments for other reasons including financial circumstances, disabilities or the risk experiencing intimate partner violence,' Menahan said. Even though the state argued that such new restrictions, like an in-person visit, are minimal, the court viewed the additional requirements differently. 'It is not enough for the state to argue the restriction is a minor one,' the order said. 'Under a strict-scrutiny analysis, the state must demonstrate HB 575 is narrowly tailored to address 'a medically acknowledged, bona fide health risk, clearly and convincingly demonstrated.'' Menahan raised additional concerns about HB 721 because it bans the dilation-and-evacuation method of abortion unless it is being used for an emergency medical situation. That would mean that abortion through medication would be the only allowable method, but HB 721 would create a 'pre-viability' loophole in state law. Current Montana law, which has been in place since at least the Armstrong ruling, said the state cannot restrict the practice up to the point of fetal viability, usually considered around 22 weeks. However, since medication abortions can only be done up to 15 weeks after the woman's last menstrual cycle, HB 721 would effectively create a ban on abortions between 15 and 22 weeks when the procedure is done surgically. HB 721 would also impose felony criminal penalties, including a fine or imprisonment of as long as 10 years. 'The state argues HB 721's ban on D&E procedures is necessary to prevent 'psychological risks to the pregnant woman' because D&E 'has been shown to lead to serious mental health issues,'' the court said. 'However, the state's argument in support of HB 721's ban on D&E procedures is fatally flawed because the state's purported evidence is largely unrelated to D&E procedures specifically.' Menahan said that the research the state cited as evidence doesn't show the procedure has 'greater negative psychological outcomes' than the other methods. 'Politicians have been desperate in their attempts to ban abortion, and while Montana has strong legal protections, their attempts cause confuse and chaos for patients,' said Martha Fuller, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Montana.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
State court strikes down two abortion laws passed in '23
Photo illustration by Getty Images. A Lewis and Clark County District Court judge has struck down two abortion bills passed into law in 2023 by the Montana Legislature and signed by Gov. Greg Gianforte, saying they violated the constitutional rights of women by subjecting those on Medicaid to onerous, unnecessary and possibly dangerous steps in order to receive an abortion. Judge Mike Menahan leaned heavily on decades' worth of court decisions which covered very similar ground, but said requirements put into law in 2023, were unnecessary and treated women who were struggling financially differently just because they elect to have an abortion. The laws were nearly immediately halted by the courts. Meanwhile, the state had argued that the Legislature had a legitimate interest in health and safety of women and infants, while also being allowed to choose what procedures the state covers through its government-supported healthcare programs. House Bill 544 and House Bill 862 would have barred abortions by any other provider than a doctor, eliminating advanced care providers. It would would have required a pre-authorization approval, a physical examination, and 'extensive supporting documentation' including a provider having to justify why the procedure is 'medically necessary.' Some of that documentation included personal questions including how many pregnancies the woman had previously had — something not required of other patients, including other Medicaid recipients who chose to carry the pregnancy to term. HB 862 would have prohibited abortions for Medicaid patients unless the pregnancy was the result of rape or incest, or the mother was 'in danger of death.' Menahan found once Montana agrees to running a medical assistance program, it can't then decide which medical procedures it condones. 'The relevant inquiry is not whether the right of privacy requires the state to fund abortions, but whether, having elected to participate in a medical assistance program, the state may selectively excluded from such benefits otherwise eligible persons solely because they constitutionally protected healthcare decisions with which the state disagrees,' the ruling said. Menahan found that additional steps and burdens the new laws placed upon pregnant women were not justifiable. For example, requiring an in-person abortion, or requiring a physician, rather than an advanced-practice nurse or doctor's assistant, was not justified when medical research proves no basis that physicians are better at abortion procedures or in-person abortions lower the risk. 'The undisputed facts likewise establish that the prior authorization requirements in the rule and HB 544 do not address a medically acknowledged, bona fide health risk. The unrequited testimony establishes that the requirements would require patients to make an extra in-person visit to a healthcare provider for a physical examination,' Menahan wrote in his opinion. 'The physical examination would result in delays that harm patient health; and would in practice ban direct-to-patient medication abortions which have been done safely via telehealth for years without the need for any in-person visit. 'The state admits it has no evidence that medication abortions provided via telehealth are any less safe or effective than abortions provided in-person. Further, the state has failed to demonstrate that the requirements for prior authorization are narrowly tailored to effectuate any state interest.' Menahan also drew on Montana's robust and still-growing case law when it came to HB 862, which would narrow when abortions could be an option for Medicaid patients, only allowing for it in cases of rape, incest or the woman's life is in danger. The court found that HB 862 was nearly identical to a case decided in 1995, Jeannnette R. vs. Ellery. 'Jeannnette R. declared unconstitutional a regulation that did the very same thing,' Menahan wrote. 'And the court has no reason before it to disturb the holding of that case.' The groups which waged the legal fight against these laws, including Planned Parenthood of Montana, the Center for Reproductive Rights, the American Civil Liberties Union of Montana, Blue Mountain Clinic and All Families Healthcare, put out a joint statement after receiving the ruling on Tuesday afternoon: 'Every Montanan deserves the ability to access quality, timely healthcare, regardless of where they live or how much money they make. We are relieved that these dangerous restrictions have been struck down for good, and that patients will continue to have the access that these laws would have forbidden. The government has been relentless in their attempts to undermine healthcare without a thought for the consequences of for patients' health and lives. Montanans made their voices heard last year when they voted to further protect abortion rights, sending a clear message that politicians have no place in exam rooms. With this win, we will continue our fight to ensure everyone in Montana can make their own decisions about their own lives.' Abortion 23 measures decision 031225
