The Quickie: Recusal Refusals & Ballot Initiatives

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: Anti-Planned Parenthood judge in AZ refuses to recuse in abortion ban case, 2024 ballot measure in Montana in full swing, and Nevada’s ballot initiative snag.

RECUSAL REFUSAL: ARIZONA SUPREME COURT JUSTICE WITH ANTI-PLANNED PARENTHOOD RECORD DECLINES TO RECUSE HIMSELF FROM UPCOMING BAN CASE: An Arizona Supreme Court justice with a record of anti-Planned Parenthood statements has declined to recuse himself in an upcoming case that could revive the state’s pre-Roe abortion ban. ICYMI: The 19th reported last month that Justice William Montgomery had not only posted inflammatory and false statements about Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers, he participated in a 2015 protest outside of Planned Parenthood Arizona’s headquarters, calling for federal defunding. 

Justice Montgomery claims that he’ll be impartial, but his refusal to step back from the bench in this case could have severe repercussions for abortion access. Abortion is banned after 15 weeks of pregnancy in Arizona , and the court could revive a total abortion ban as a result of the case currently before it. 

Planned Parenthood Arizona’s attorneys filed a request for recusal in October after The 19th broke the news about Justice Montgomery. Unfortunately, he’s followed a trend noted by abortion law scholar Mary Ziegler: “There’s lots of precedent for judges who have a track record for being strongly, openly opposed to abortion of not recusing,” Ziegler told The 19th. “State supreme courts are political actors in a way other judges are not.”

 

MONTANA ADVOCATES LOOK AHEAD TO 2024 BALLOT MEASURE: Last week, a coalition of Montana reproductive health and rights groups — including Planned Parenthood of Montana — filed a prospective 2024 ballot initiative to explicitly protect abortion rights in the state constitution. If the secretary of state approves the measure, advocates will need to collect signatures from 10% of Montana voters, including 10% of voters in each legislative house district. 

There’s precedent for Montanans protecting reproductive rights. Just last year, voters rejected a lie-based legislative referendum that would have impacted access to reproductive health care in the state. Now, they could have the opportunity to firmly establish a right to abortion access. 

“We just know that many Montanans feel politicians have gone too far in trying to make medical decisions for Montanans, decisions that belong to no one but patients and their doctors,” Chris Coburn, acting CEO of Planned Parenthood of Montana told the Montana Free Press. “As we move forward through this campaign, we will continue to have deep conversations, continue to do more polling, so that by the time we’re ready to start gathering signatures, we have a deeper understanding of how Montanans feel on the issue. And ultimately it will be up to Montanans when they vote.”

 

NEVADA BALLOT INITIATIVE HITS SNAG, STILL PERSEVERING: A district court has put a hold on Nevada’s proposed reproductive freedom ballot initiative, declaring that it’s too broad for a single ballot question. Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom president Lindsey Harmon said that the organization will appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court shortly.  “We are optimistic about the ballot initiative as a whole, and you know, we plan to appeal this,” Harmon said in a statement. “And we know that in fact, these are all a single subject.”

Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom is prepared for the state Supreme Court to rule in early 2024, leaving time to gather more than 100,000 signatures by June. The measure would need to be approved by voters in both 2024 and 2026 to amend the state constitution.