Abortion

Montana’s attorney general is supporting an Ohio lawsuit aiming to stop federal resources from going to clinics that refer patients elsewhere for abortion services.

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen plans to ask the state Supreme Court to overturn a temporary block on three laws restricting abortion.

The injunction comes a week after the same judge issued a temporary restraining order that stalled the laws for 10 days.

A Yellowstone County District Court judge late last week temporarily blocked three new laws that restrict access to abortion just hours before they were set to go into effect. Montana Public Radio's Shaylee Ragar talked with Montana Free Press's Mara Silvers and the Montana State News Bureau's Holly Michels about what happened and what's still up in the air.

A proposal to create a politically appointed panel to decide who gets Medicaid coverage for abortions was met with bipartisan pushback last session. Republican lawmakers compromised and changed the proposal to a study of the issue over the next two years instead.

Planned Parenthood of Montana is suing the state to block four new laws that restrict access to abortion.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - Twenty states including Montana, Idaho, North Dakota and Utah are supporting South Carolina’s defense of a new abortion law. The states argue in an amicus brief filed this week that a federal judge shouldn't have paused the entire measure, just the provision being challenged in court.

Before the end of the legislative session closed, Montana lawmakers reversed course on a proposal that would have required a politically-appointed panel...

The 2021 Legislature produced a balanced budget with a slight spending increase, some new restrictions on abortion, a fight with the state Supreme Court and a lot of fulfilled conservative goals. Holly, Rob and Sally give their final takeaways from the session and preview the upcoming race for Montana's new second congressional seat.

In our final episode for the 2021 legislative session, we're looking at new laws, how lawmakers sought to asset more power among Montana's branches of government and what loose ends remain as we head into the interim.