Montana Governor Greg Gianforte blasted a unanimous decision rendered Wednesday by the Montana Supreme Court that struck down the Parental Consent for Abortion Act of 2013, eroding parental rights for the medical care of their minor children.

“As a strong defender of parental rights, I’m deeply concerned and disappointed by today’s ruling from the Montana Supreme Court, which states parents do not have a fundamental right to oversee the medical care of their young daughters,” Gianforte said. “In its ruling, the Court has wielded its gavel like a hammer against one of the fundamental rights in our history: the right of parents to consent to the medical care of their minor children.”

The Court in its 41 page decision concluded, as Justice Laurie McKinnon wrote for the justices, while “We also acknowledge that the State has a substantial interest in preserving the family, protecting minors, and protecting the rights of parents to raise their children,” that “However, when weighed against the right of a minor to make the most intimate and personal decision of whether to carry a child to term, the interests expressed by the State must be furthered by and substantially related to the legislation itself, and the legislation must be narrowly tailored to meet only those legitimate legislative goals.” The Court also said that the state had not shown sufficient evidence that the law was justified to protect minors.

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The decision upheld a district judge’s conclusion that the law was invalid because it infringed on the right to privacy.

Passed in 2013, the law has never taken effect. Planned Parenthood of Montana immediately challenged it and a preliminary injunction blocked implementation while litigation continued for over a decade.

Also passed in 2013 is a parental notification law which is being separately challenged by Planned Parenthood of Montana. It, too, has never taken effect.

Background

“In 2013, the Montana Legislature passed House Bill 391, which prohibited anyone under 18 from getting an abortion without notarized written consent from their parent or legal guardian,” Jonathon Ambarian reported. “Exceptions would be allowed in a medical emergency or if a minor successfully petitioned a court to waive the requirement.”

The case passed through several district court judges, “eventually ending up with District Judge Chris Abbott of Helena,” Ambarian wrote.

Chase Scheuer, press secretary for Attorney General Austin Knudsen’s office, called the court “radical and out-of-touch.”

“It is ludicrous to believe that a child’s parents should not be informed before a major medical procedure and Montanans agree,” Scheuer said. “In 2012, 70 percent of Montanans supported a parental notice act, which was also challenged by Planned Parenthood and is going to trial. The people’s elected representatives in the Legislature also passed the parental consent act to protect parents’ right to have a say in their child’s well-being. After 11 years of litigation, the Supreme Court took that right away from parents across the state. What will the court decide next, that parents don’t need to consent to their child’s underage marriage?”

LifeNews.com Note: Dave Andrusko is the editor of National Right to Life News and an author and editor of several books on abortion topics. He frequently writes Today’s News and Views — an online opinion column on pro-life issues.