Montana politics, elections and legislative news
Planned Parenthood of Montana Sues State Due To New Laws Restricting Abortion Access
Yellowstone Public Radio | By Kayla Desroches
Published August 16, 2021 at 7:46 PM MDT
Gavel.
Planned Parenthood of Montana is suing the state to block four new laws that restrict access to abortion.
The lawsuit filed in Yellowstone County District Court Monday claims the laws infringe on Montanans' constitutional rights and intrude in the relationship between patients and doctors.
The policies were approved by this year's state Legislature and signed into law by Governor Greg Gianforte. They are scheduled to go into effect October 1.
The laws ban abortion at 20 weeks gestation, prevent providers from prescribing medication abortions via telehealth or mail, require providers to offer a patient ultrasounds and prohibits the coverage of some abortion services within health plans under the Affordable Care Act marketplace.
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen says he looks forward to defending the laws and "protecting the lives of the unborn."
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Kayla Desroches
Kayla Desroches reports for Yellowstone Public Radio in Billings. She was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, and stayed in the city for college, where she hosted a radio show that featured serialized dramas like the Shadow and Suspense. In her pathway to full employment, she interned at WNYC in New York City and KTOO in Juneau, Alaska. She then spent a few years on the island of Kodiak, Alaska, where she transitioned from reporter to news director before moving to Montana.
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