Advanced Practice Nurses Cleared to Provide Abortions in Montana

Montana’s Constitution guarantees people the right to seek an abortion from a qualified health-care provider of their choosing, including an advanced practice registered nurse, the state’s top court said.

The state failed to prove that abortion care performed by APRNs presents a medically acknowledged health risk or more risk than abortions provided by doctors or physician assistants, the Montana Supreme Court said.

The decision builds on the Montana Supreme Court’s 1999 holding in Armstrong v. State, in which it struck down a state law that prohibited PAs from performing abortions. In doing so, the state’s top court recognized that ...