Montana Court Strikes Down Restrictions on Abortion Care for Medicaid Patients 

03.11.25 (PRESS RELEASE) – Today, a Montana district court permanently blocked several restrictions that would have effectively eliminated abortion access for most Medicaid patients, especially those who live in rural and tribal communities. The court agreed with abortion providers that the laws violate Montanans’ constitutional right to abortion. 

The restrictions struck down today would have only allowed doctors to provide abortion care, drastically narrowing the pool of qualified abortion providers for those covered by the state’s Medicaid program; banned abortion care via direct-to-patient telehealth for Medicaid patients; and created a narrow definition of “medically necessary” care that would have further restricted access to abortion care for Medicaid recipients. This ruling also blocks a law that would have prevented Medicaid patients from having coverage of abortion care in almost all cases.  

This lawsuit was filed in 2023 by Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Center for Reproductive Rights on behalf of Planned Parenthood of Montana, Blue Mountain Clinic, and All Families Healthcare to keep these medically unnecessary laws from taking effect. The district court issued a preliminary injunction preventing these restrictions from taking effect while the case proceeded. The Montana Supreme Court ruled last year that these restrictions likely violate the right to abortion under the Montana Constitution and that they would likely harm Montanans seeking abortions. These restrictions are now permanently blocked, meaning Medicaid patients seeking abortions in Montana will face fewer hurdles in accessing care. Currently, the state of Montana covers medically necessary abortions for patients enrolled in Medicaid.  

As the court recognized, “The decision of whether to bear a child or have an abortion is so private and intimate that each woman in the state—rich or poor—is guaranteed the right to make that decision as an individual, uncoerced by governmental intrusion. . . There is no greater power than the power of the purse. If the government can use it to nullify constitutional rights, by conditioning benefits only upon the sacrifice of such rights, the Bill of Rights could become a yellowing scrap of paper.” 

Joint statement from Planned Parenthood of Montana, Center for Reproductive Rights, ACLU of Montana, Blue Mountain Clinic, and All Families Healthcare: 

“Every Montanan deserves the ability to access quality, timely health care, regardless of where they live or how much money they make. We are relieved that these dangerous restrictions have been struck down for good, and that patients will continue to have the access that these laws would have forbidden. The government has been relentless in their attempts to undermine health care, without a thought for the consequences for patients’ health and lives. Montanans made their voices heard last year when they voted to further protect abortion rights, sending a clear message that politicians have no place in exam rooms. With this win, we will continue our fight to ensure everyone in Montana can make their own decisions about their own lives.” 

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MEDIA CONTACTS:  

Center for Reproductive Rights: [email protected]  

PPFA Contact: [email protected]  

PPMT Contact: Mary Sullivan; [email protected]