The U.S. Supreme Court announced Thursday it will not hear Montana’s appeal to reinstate a 2013 law requiring parental consent for minors seeking abortions.
The law, which never took effect due to legal challenges, was struck down last year by the Montana Supreme Court, citing the state’s constitutional protections for abortion rights, according to the Associated Press.
Montana officials argued the ruling infringed on parental authority and stated in court filings that “parents’ right to know about, and participate in, their child’s medical decisions” is a core constitutional right.
However, the high court declined to take up the case, with Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas clarifying the decision was based on procedural grounds — not a rejection of Montana’s argument.
Planned Parenthood, which challenged the law, defended the Montana Supreme Court’s decision as a careful balance between parental involvement and minors’ rights.
“Petitioners seek to use the parental right as a cudgel against a minor’s rights,” the organization wrote, emphasizing that “the broader interests of the child must be accounted for along with parental rights.”
Montana’s constitution has long recognized abortion rights and voters reaffirmed that stance in 2024 by passing a constitutional amendment explicitly protecting reproductive decisions.
The blocked law would have required notarized parental consent for minors under 18 with an option for judicial bypass. A separate law mandating parental notification remains in effect.
Nationwide, more than two dozen states have similar parental consent laws, though some — like California and New Mexico — have seen them blocked in court. An additional twelve states require parental notification, with three of those laws also facing legal challenges.
The Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the Montana case leaves the state court’s ruling intact and underscores the growing role of state constitutions in shaping abortion policy following the federal rollback of Roe v. Wade
