In 2021, the Montana Legislature passed four anti-abortion bills: HB 136, HB 140, HB 171, and HB 229. Together, they imposed unnecessary health care restrictions, spread misinformation, and undermined the bodily autonomy of people seeking abortions.
In response, Planned Parenthood of Montana and Dr. Joey Banks1 sued to block the laws from taking effect. A Montana district court ruled in their favor, issuing a preliminary injunction to stop enforcement of the laws while the case was pending.
The case was then appealed to the Montana Supreme Court. At this stage, we provided support by submitting an amicus curiae (friend-of-the-court) brief with our partners. Ultimately, the court upheld a block on three of the bills and the parties agreed to partial dismissal of claims related to HB 229.
What followed was all too familiar. The case went back to the district court. Again, the lower court sided with plaintiffs by finding the bills unconstitutional. Again, the state appealed the case, bringing it back to the Montana Supreme Court. Now, two years later, we are once again collaborating with our partners to support access to reproductive health care.
On Tuesday, we submitted an updated amicus brief that shows how Montana’s laws would harm survivors of intimate partner violence. The impact of these laws would be especially severe for BIPOC, immigrants, and residents of rural communities.
We hope the court continues to see Montana’s anti-abortion laws for what they are: an unconstitutional attack on reproductive rights that negatively impacts the safety of survivors of gender-based violence.
We are deeply grateful to those who collaborated to update and submit the brief: Matthew P. Gordon, Hannah Parman, and Anna Thompson of Perkins Coie.
We also extend a heartfelt thank you to every organization that signed onto the brief:
- The Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence
- Aspen
- Caminar Latino/Latinos United for Peace and Equity
- District 4 Human Resources Development Council
- Domestic And Sexual Violence Services of Carbon County
- Idaho Coalition Against Sexual & Domestic Violence
- Montana Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual Violence
- National Network to End Domestic Violence
- Sanders County Coalition for Families
- Sexual Violence Law Center
- Ujima, The National Center on Violence Against Women In the Black Community
- Victim-Witness Assistance Services
- Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence
