Montana Supreme Court rules minors don’t need parental permission for abortion

Associated Press

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana’s Supreme Court ruled that minors don’t need their parents’ permission to get an abortion in the state. Wednesday’s unanimous opinion agrees with a lower court ruling that found the parental consent law violates the privacy clause in the state constitution. The ruling comes as an initiative to ask voters if they want to amend the state constitution to protect the right to a pre-viability abortion is expected to be on the Montana ballot in November. The Legislature passed the parental consent law in 2013, but it was blocked by an injunction agreed to by the attorney general at the time and never took effect.