Court calls for hearings on abortion
The Associated Press | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 10 years, 3 months AGO
HELENA (AP) — The Montana Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that court hearings must be held to determine the constitutionality of laws requiring parental notice and parental consent before minors can have abortions.
Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit over a 1995 law that required doctors to notify parents before performing an abortion on a minor under the age of 18. In 1999, a District Court judge ruled that law was unconstitutional.
In 2011, Montana voters passed a ballot measure requiring parental notice before performing abortions on minors under the age of 16. Two years later, the Legislature passed a law requiring parental consent for abortions performed on minors under 18.
Planned Parenthood sued, arguing the 1999 ruling meant the later laws also were unconstitutional and the same issues shouldn’t be argued again by the same parties. District Judge Jeffrey Sherlock agreed in January 2014 decision.
The state appealed and the Supreme Court ruled 4-1 that the issues were not identical. Specifically, the court noted that the 1995 law applied to all minors under 18, while the 2011 law applied only to minors under 16. The 1995 law required parental notification, but the 2013 law requires parental consent. They sent the case back to District Court.
Planned Parenthood issued a statement Tuesday calling the laws harmful.
“Make no mistake — this is not over,” said Martha Stahl, the group’s president. “We remain fully confident that these laws are not only bad health policy, but also clear violations of young Montana women’s constitutional rights.”
Montana Attorney General Tim Fox said he was pleased with the ruling.
“More than 70 percent of Montana voters and a majority of legislators enacted the parental notification and parental consent laws,” Fox said in a statement. “The will of the people has been made clear. Today’s ruling means we can move forward in vigorously defending the fundamental rights of parents to be involved in the decisions their children face.”
Thirty-eight states require parental consent or notification before a minor can have an abortion.
MORE IMPORTED STORIES
Montana abortion clinics ask judge to block law that bans second-trimester abortion method
Daily Inter-Lake | Updated 2 years ago

Montana Supreme Court considers parental consent case for minors seeking abortion
Daily Inter-Lake | Updated 1 year, 2 months ago

Montana Supreme Court rules minors don't need parental permission for abortion
Daily Inter-Lake | Updated 9 months, 1 week ago
ARTICLES BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Latest: US helped family escape Afghanistan overland
WASHINGTON — The United States is confirming for the first time that it has helped a U.S. citizen and family members to escape Afghanistan through an overland route to a neighboring country.
The Latest: US helped family escape Afghanistan overland
WASHINGTON — The United States is confirming for the first time that it has helped a U.S. citizen and family members to escape Afghanistan through an overland route to a neighboring country.
The Latest: Top Republican says Taliban holding Americans
WASHINGTON — The top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee says some Americans who have been trying to get out of Afghanistan since the U.S. military left are sitting in airplanes at an airport ready to leave but the Taliban are not letting them take off.