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Montana Supreme Court Rules in Abortion Provider Case

Court upheld a ruling that allows a nurse practitioner and a nurse midwife to provide abortions while they challenge a state law

By Associated Press

HELENA — A divided Montana Supreme Court has upheld a ruling that allows a nurse practitioner and a nurse midwife to provide abortions while they challenge a state law that says only physicians and physician assistants can perform the procedure.

Last year, a state judge granted a preliminary injunction blocking the state law as it applied to nurse practitioner Helen Weems and an unidentified nurse midwife.

The state appealed.

The Montana Supreme Court, in a 4-3 decision issued Friday, upheld the injunction, saying medical providers can challenge laws that impact their female patients’ constitutional privacy rights to obtain a legal medical procedure from a competent health care provider.

The Center for Reproductive Rights and the ACLU of Montana will now ask the district judge for a permanent injunction that applies to all advanced practice nurses.