Supreme Court rejects Montana's bid to revive parental consent law for
minors' abortions
[July 05, 2025]
By LINDSAY WHITEHURST
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court said Thursday it will not hear a
case involving a push to revive a law that minors must have their
parents’ permission for an abortion in Montana, where voters have
enshrined the right to abortion in the state's constitution.
The justices rebuffed an appeal from the Republican-led state seeking to
overturn a Montana Supreme Court ruling that struck down the law. The
parental consent law passed in 2013 but was blocked in court and never
took effect before it was invalidated last year.
Montana state leaders say that decision violated parents’ rights.
“The right that Montana seeks to vindicate here — parents’ right to know
about, and participate in, their child’s medical decisions — falls well
within the core of parents’ fundamental rights,” state attorneys argued
in court documents.
Two conservative justices, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, wrote
separately to say the high court's denial to take up the case was about
its technical legalities rather than rejection of the state's argument.
Planned Parenthood argued that the Montana Supreme Court decision
balanced the rights of parents and of minors in a state that has
protected the right to abortion. Montana's highest recognized a right to
abortion before the Supreme Court overturned it nationwide, and voters
also enshrined it in the Montana Constitution last year.
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“Petitioners seek to use the parental right as a cudgel against a
minor’s rights,” the group wrote. “The broader interests of the child
must be accounted for along with parental rights.”
The law would require notarized, written consent for people younger than
18 to get an abortion. It would also allow minors to petition judges for
permission, a process known as judicial bypass. Montana also has another
law in place requiring parents be notified of minors’ abortions.
More than two dozen states require parents consent to abortions for
minors, though the laws have also been blocked in California and New
Mexico, according to data gathered by KFF, a nonprofit that researches
health care issues. A dozen more states require parental notification
alone, though three of those laws are also blocked in court.
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