Montana Supreme Court declines to hear lawsuit challenging abortion amendment

UPDATE, 7/1/25: The Montana Family Foundation announced today that The Montana Supreme Court declined to hear the group’s challenge to CI-128. The group stated in a press release:

The Court’s decision not to hear the case at this stage comes without fully addressing the merits of the Foundation’s constitutional arguments. Central to the case is the assertion that the submission of CI-128 to Montana voters violated Article XIV, Section 9(3) of the Montana Constitution, which requires “the proposed amendment”—not merely a summary or explanatory statement—to appear before voters on the ballot.… In a procedural development, the Court also granted a petition for intervention filed by the supporters of CI-128, who now seek to protect their substantial financial investment in the amendment’s passage.Today marks the first day of CI-128’s enactment in Montana. The measure, now part of the state constitution, prohibits virtually any form of state regulation on abortion, even those protecting women’s health or unborn children in the final weeks of pregnancy.The group believes that the challenge to CI-128 will eventually end up before the Montana Supreme Court, regardless of this decision.

6/29/25: The Montana Family Foundation, a non-profit research and education organization to support Montana families, filed a lawsuit on June 9 against a Constitutional amendment passed by ballot initiative last November shielding all abortions before viability.

Key Takeaways:

• Two individual plaintiffs and one organization have filed suit asking the Montana Supreme Court — known to heavily favor abortion — to declare the voting results of a pro-abortion constitutional amendment “null and void” due to a procedural issue.

• Registered voters received a pamphlet 45 day ahead of the vote containing the amendment’s full language, but those who registered to vote on Election Day did not.

• The amendment is set to go into effect on July 1 and will make all abortions prior to “viability” legal, as well as any abortions done to “protect the life or health of the mother.”

The Details:

In its lawsuit, the Montana Family Foundation alleges that the “complete text” of the amendment was not shared with all voters. People who registered on election day did not get an official pamphlet produced by the State Secretary of State.  The Secretary’s pamphlet is distributed to all registered voters 45 days in advance and contains the full language of the amendment. Instead, “day of” registrants received only the summary of the initiative contained on the ballot.

According to the Daily Montanan:

… [P]laintiffs Hannah Rhodes and Joe Addy, who registered to vote on Election Day, and the Montana Life Defense Fund, are asking the Montana Supreme Court declare the outcome null and void, alleging the submission of CI-128 to voters was “constitutionally deficient (and) procedurally unsound.”

Because only a summary was provided, it is alleged that not everyone understood what they were voting for and were deprived of their rights, according to the lawsuit.

The Montana Family Foundation told its supporters in an email, “Make no mistake: This is a battle for the soul of Montana… If CI-128 stands, it will open the floodgates to unrestricted abortion and strip Montana of its ability to protect innocent life.” 

Set to go into effect on July 1, 2025, the amendment will prevent any restrictions on abortion before so-called ‘viability.’ The state government will also be prohibited from restricting or punishing abortionists who perform abortions at any point during the pregnancy to “protect the life or health of the mother.” 

As Live Action News previously noted, a “treating healthcare professional” remains undefined in the language of the amendment, and states that “the government cannot ‘burden’ the express right to an abortion,” like Planned Parenthood v. Casey.

The Backstory:

CI-128 or “Constitutional Initiative 128” passed by a 14-point margin of 57% to 43% on November 4, 2024. Over 77,000 more Montanans voted to enshrine their abortion law into the state’s Constitution than opposed. 

The lawsuit against CI-128 comes on the heels of the Montana Supreme Court overturning three 2021 laws that would have protected women and preborn children in that state. Those laws, HB 171, HB 136, and HB 140, were reversed on June 9, 2025.

As previously reported by Live Action News, “In its 6-1 ruling, the court found that each of the laws infringed on a person’s constitutional right to privacy.” The Montana Supreme Court is known to favor abortion and has consistently overturned democratic initiatives meant to regulate it.