Groups file suit to declare Montana's right to abortion is unconstitutional [View all]

[RandySF]

Two groups, which were shot down unanimously by the Montana Supreme Court when they tried to halt a provision to protect the right to an abortion hours before it became part of the state’s constitution, have kept a vow to take the fight to a state district court.

The Montana Life Defense Fund and the Montana Family Foundation filed suit in Yellowstone District Court late Tuesday afternoon, asking Judge Thomas Pardy to declare Constitutional Initiative 128, passed overwhelmingly by voters in November 2024, invalid because the full text was not printed on the ballot itself, something the group argues makes not just CI-128 illegal, but every amendment passed since 1978. However, the group is only challenging the passage of the abortion amendment because of a two-year statute of limitations.

CI-128, which has since become part of the state’s constitution, protects the right to abortion up to the point of fetal viability, most commonly pinpointed at around the 22nd week of gestation. Previously, abortion had been legal up until the same point due to the state’s constitutional protection of privacy and a 1999 Supreme Court decision that said privacy applied the most in sensitive medical decisions between doctors and patients.

For years, if not decades, conservative lawmakers tried attacking the ruling through a wave of legislation that tried to curb, curtail or otherwise impede the procedure, with little success. In 2024, Montanans overwhelmingly voted to approve CI-128 which enshrined the right.




https://dailymontanan.com/2025/08/06/groups-file-suit-to-declare-montanas-right-to-abortion-is-unconstitutional/