Montana’s Top Court Strikes Down 20-Week Abortion, Telemed Bans

A Montana law criminalizing abortions after 20-weeks’ gestation violates the state’s constitutional right to privacy, Montana’s top court ruled.

The Montana Constitution guarantees a fundamental right of privacy that protects a patient’s procreative autonomy, including the right to seek and obtain pre-viability abortion services, the Montana Supreme Court said Monday, reaffirming a 1999 decision.

The 20-week ban infringes on that right, and the state didn’t show that it has a compelling interest that the law was narrowly tailored to serve, the court said.

“Setting a bright-line ban on abortion is not the least restrictive means” to protect women’s health, the ...