Montana AG asks Supreme Court to uphold law requiring parental consent for abortion of minors
FIRST ON FOX: A lawyer from Montana Gen. Austin Knudsen is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear his appeal of a ruling by his state’s highest court that struck down a 2013 law requiring minors seeking abortions to obtain certified written consent from a parent or guardian.
The law also includes a provision to bypass the courts, allowing minors to seek court approval for an abortion without parental consent.
Supreme Court of Montana struck down the Parental Consent for Abortion Act of 2024, ruling that it violated minors’ fundamental right to privacy under the state constitution by making access to abortion conditional on parental consent.
The court recognized that parents have the right to manage the care and custody of their children, but found that these rights do not override the “fundamental” right of a minor child to seek an abortion.
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Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen (Fox News)
Justice Laurie McKinnon, writing for the Montana Supreme Court, said “a minor’s right to control her reproductive decisions is one of the most fundamental rights she possesses” and that the state had failed to demonstrate a compelling need for the law to protect minors, Reuters reported at the time.
Knudsen’s appeal seeks from US Supreme Court to address whether parental rights include the ability to participate in decisions about the medical care of a minor child, including abortion.
The case highlights the ongoing debate over parental authority in the wake of women’s health advocacy organization Dobbs v. Jackson.
“SCOTUS should hear the case and overturn the radical Montana Supreme Court’s bad decision allowing minors to have abortions without parental consent,” Knudsen said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
“A child’s right to privacy does not trump a parent’s fundamental right to direct the care and upbringing of their child. Until we get clarity from the Supreme Court, the health and safety of young Montanans seeking an abortion is in danger.”
Planned Parenthood Manhattan (Getty Images)
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The outcome could have broad implications for abortion access and parental consent laws across the country, as several states have recently enacted “shield laws,” protecting health care providers from legal consequences for performing sex-reassignment surgeries and abortions on minors.
For Knudsen’s case to be heard in court, at least four judges must agree to review it.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Planned Parenthood Montana for comment.
