Montana AG asks Supreme Court to uphold law requiring parental consent for a minor’s abortion

FIRST ON FOX: Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear his appeal of a ruling handed down by his state’s highest court invalidating a 2013 law that requires minors seeking an abortion to obtain notarized written consent from a parent or guardian. 

The law also includes a judicial bypass provision, allowing minors to seek court approval for an abortion without parental consent.

The Montana Supreme Court struck down the Parental Consent for Abortion Act in 2024, ruling it violates a minor’s fundamental right to privacy under the state constitution by conditioning access to abortion on parental consent. 

The court acknowledged parents have a right to direct the care and custody of their children but determined those rights don’t override the “fundamental” right of a minor child to seek an abortion.

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Justice Laurie McKinnon, writing for the Montana Supreme Court, said “a minor’s right to control her reproductive decisions is among the most fundamental of the rights she possesses” and that the state failed to demonstrate a compelling need for the law to protect minors, Reuters reported at the time.

Knudsen’s appeal asks the U.S. Supreme Court to address whether parental rights include the ability to participate in decisions about a minor child’s medical care, including abortion. 

The case highlights the ongoing debate over parental authority after the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision.

“SCOTUS should hear the case and reverse the radical Montana Supreme Court’s bad decision allowing minors to receive abortions without parental consent,” Knudsen said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“A child’s right to privacy does not supersede 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 abortions is at risk.”

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The outcome could have broad implications for abortion access and parental consent laws nationwide because several states have passed “shield laws” recently, protecting medical providers from legal fallout for performing gender transition surgeries and abortions on minors.

For Knudsen’s case to be heard before the court, at least four justices must agree to review it.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Planned Parenthood Montana for comment.