By Dave Andrusko

Late Tuesday, Christi Jacobsen, the Montana secretary of state, sent an email to Montanans Securing Reproductive Rights notifying the pro-abortion coalition that they had collected enough valid signatures to place Constitutional Initiative 128 on the ballot. The notification was only a formality in that the coalition had submitted more than 117,000 signatures, which is nearly double the 60,039 required.

“We’re excited that CI-128 will be on the ballot in November, and Montana voters will finally have the opportunity to make their voices heard and protect reproductive rights in November,” said Martha Fuller, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana and spokesperson for MSRR, in a statement.

C-128 would enshrine abortion in the state constitution.

“Democrat–aligned groups had been working to put the state constitutional amendment on Montana’s ballot in a move that would boost the re-election bid of embattled Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.),” Axios’s Rebecca Falconer reported.

Much like other states where the abortion industry has radically changed state constitutions, Montana CI-128 backers claim their initiative limits abortions after viability. Yet loopholes in the language clearly authorize abortions through all 9 months. For example, the use of the word “health” is a clear example of such a ruse where the exceptions lead to even the most extreme abortions.

Meanwhile, on August 14, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte blasted a unanimous decision rendered by the Montana Supreme Court that struck down the Parental Consent for Abortion Act of 2013, eroding parental rights for the medical care of their minor children.

“As a strong defender of parental rights, I’m deeply concerned and disappointed by today’s ruling from the Montana Supreme Court, which states parents do not have a fundamental right to oversee the medical care of their young daughters,” Gianforte said. “In its ruling, the Court has wielded its gavel like a hammer against one of the fundamental rights in our history: the right of parents to consent to the medical care of their minor children.”

Justice Laurie McKinnon, writing for the court, concluded that while “We also acknowledge that the State has a substantial interest in preserving the family, protecting minors, and protecting the rights of parents to raise their children,” however, “when weighed against the right of a minor to make the most intimate and personal decision of whether to carry a child to term, the interests expressed by the State must be furthered by and substantially related to the legislation itself, and the legislation must be narrowly tailored to meet only those legitimate legislative goals.” The Court also said that the state had not shown sufficient evidence that the law was justified to protect minors.

The decision upheld a district judge’s conclusion that the law was invalid because it infringed on the right to privacy.

Passed in 2013, the law has never taken effect. Planned Parenthood of Montana immediately challenged it and a preliminary injunction blocked implementation while litigation continued for over a decade.

Also passed in 2013 is a parental notification law which is being separately challenged by Planned Parenthood of Montana. It, too, has never taken effect.

Background

“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,” Jonathon Ambarian reported. “Exceptions would be allowed in a medical emergency or if a minor successfully petitioned a court to waive the requirement.”

The case passed through several district court judges, “eventually ending up with District Judge Chris Abbott of Helena,” Ambarian wrote.

Chase Scheuer, press secretary for Attorney General Austin Knudsen’s office, called the court “radical and out-of-touch.”