A 2013 law was just invalidated regarding a minor’s right to abortion with parental consent. As of august 2024 minors in Montana can receive an abortion without their parental consent. This is because a minor’s right to privacy was ruled more important than a parent making medical decisions. 8 out of 1000 women ages 15-44 in Montana have gotten an abortion, but numbers are expected to go up now that no parental consent is required. 

This right to proper healthcare is a huge step in the right direction for Montana considering it is a very red dominated state. This law was passed because without it, it would violate the privacy clause in the state’s constitution. The law says that questions of protecting minors should be up to the individual. There are some other states that will allow minors to go through with an abortion without parental consent, such as Alaska, California, Connecticut, District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.), Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, and New Jersey. Some states have more complicated rules when it comes to parental consent, such as Delaware, where no parental consent is needed but the abortion has to be approved by a physician.

While I do believe that parental consent is necessary in most other medical operations such as invasive surgeries, I believe that a minor’s right to abortion without parental consent is necessary. There are already enough stigmas surrounding the process of abortion. Abortions are highly stigmatised procedures in America, especially with the recent election. This argument is often brought up in the philosophical topic of personhood, do fetuses have personhood? The answer to the question is up to you…actually it’s up to the government. The states decide what criteria of personhood they think need to apply to fetuses in order for abortion to be legal. I believe that Montana has taken one small step in the right direction when it comes to women’s healthcare, however I will still be waiting for many more to come.