The Quickie: Montana Trial Court To Hear Oral Arguments Over Abortion Laws
For Immediate Release: Dec. 18, 2023
Welcome to “The Quickie” — Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s daily tipsheet on the top health care & reproductive rights stories of the day. You can read “The Quickie'' online here.
In today’s Quickie: Montana hears oral arguments over abortion laws, a look at how providers are navigating shifting abortion care, and attorneys dismiss Kentucky class-action against abortion bans.
MONTANA TRIAL COURT TO HEAR ORAL ARGUMENTS OVER ABORTION LAWS: Today, a trial court in Montana will hear oral arguments that could determine whether several abortion restrictions will go into effect. During the 2021 legislative session, Montana lawmakers enacted restrictions that included a 20-week ban, restrictions on medication abortion including a ban on direct-to-patient telehealth medication abortions, and a requirement that providers ask patients if they would like to see and listen to an ultrasound.
These restrictions have been blocked by a preliminary injunction issued by a trial court in 2021, which the Montana Supreme Court subsequently upheld. If the judge grants Planned Parenthood of Montana’s motion for summary judgment, these restrictions will be permanently blocked, meaning fewer barriers to care for Montanans.
If you are interested in learning more, please reach out to [email protected].
HOW PROVIDERS ARE TRYING TO NAVIGATE THE SHIFTING LANDSCAPE OF ABORTION CARE: Last Friday, Amna Dermish, Chief Operating and Medical Services Officer of Planned Parenthood Greater Texas, shared with PBS how difficult it is for physicians to provide care in a post-Dobbs world, explaining that abortion bans with narrow exceptions, such as in Texas, leave providers vulnerable to being questioned by the legislature and judiciary for every medical decision they make. She explained, “We're in a situation where doctors are having to say, how sick is too sick? How close to death does somebody need to be? And who is allowed to make that determination?”
“...You go into medicine to help people,” Dr. Dermish said. “And to be held back from that is really devastating as a provider. And I think what we have seen in Kate Cox's case is that the state is determined to prevent us from practicing safe medicine.”
Watch the full segment from PBS.
ATTORNEYS DISMISS CLASS-ACTION CHALLENGE TO KENTUCKY’S ABORTION BANS: Over the weekend, attorneys dismissed the class-action lawsuit challenging Kentucky’s abortion bans. The lawsuit, Jane Doe, et al. v. Daniel Cameron, et al., was filed earlier this month on behalf of a Kentucky woman who, at eight weeks of pregnancy, was seeking an abortion, and on behalf of all Kentuckians who might be denied access to care in Kentucky. Jane and Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawai’i, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky were represented by attorneys from the ACLU, ACLU of Kentucky, and Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
“The Kentucky Supreme Court's decision earlier this year to take away health care providers’ ability to raise the rights of their patients has backed Kentuckians into a corner,” said attorneys in a statement. “The court’s decision has forced Kentuckians seeking abortion to bring a lawsuit while in the middle of seeking time-sensitive health care, a daunting feat, and one that should not be necessary to reclaim the fundamental right to control their own bodies.
“But we won't stop fighting,” the attorneys continued. “We encourage others in Kentucky who are currently pregnant and seeking an abortion to reach out to us if they are interested in bringing a case — call or text us at (617) 297-7012. We will continue to use every tool in our toolbox to restore the right to abortion for every person in Kentucky.