Summary
After Montana enacted a law in 1995 limiting the performance of abortions to licensed physicians, a group of licensed physicians and one physician assistant challenged it. A federal district court denied the group’s request to temporarily halt the law from going into effect, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit vacated the decision. The case was sent back to the district court, which ruled to temporarily halt the law pending appeal.
Montana appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, and after the Court agreed to hear the case, Alliance Defending Freedom funded amicus efforts in support of the law. In 1997, the Supreme Court ruled that Montana’s law was valid and that states may pass laws protecting women by ensuring that only licensed physicians perform abortions, not lesser-trained medical personnel.