Montana’s Pro-Choice grade?

A-.

Not bad, considering that the nation as a whole earns a whopping D-.

What could we do better?

• Montana currently upholds an unconstitutional counseling requirement that a woman may not receive an abortion until 24 hours after a physician (or physician’s agent) provides her with state-mandated information, including: physical and psychological risks of abortion, lists of adoption agencies, anatomical drawings of the “unborn child” at two-week gestational increments, and information regarding state-funded pre- and neo-natal care.
• Montana also upholds a “parental notification” law, similar to that recently denied in California, that states that a young pregnant woman under the age of 18 cannot be granted an abortion until 48 hours after at least one parent has been notified of her intent by the physician or the physician’s agent.  State courts have held that this law is unconstitutional because it infringes, “without adequate justification, the privacy rights of pregnant young women who wish to terminate their pregnancies.” Wicklund v. State, No. ADV-97-671 (Mont. Dist. Ct. Feb. 12, 1999) (summary judgment), No. ADV-97-671 (Mont. Dist. Ct. Feb. 25, 1999) (permanent injunction), appeal filed, No. 99-311 (Mont. Apr. 15, 1999), appeal dismissed, (Mont. Nov. 29, 1999).  A young women can receive permission from a judge, but not until she has provided evidence that she has suffered from physical, emotional, or sexual abuse from one or both parents.