The following comes from an Oct. 17 letter written by a source close to the Montana parental notification campaign.
In 2012 we achieved a tremendous pro-life victory in the state of Montana when voters approved a parental notification ballot initiative by an overwhelming margin of 70 percent….
We expected that the very lopsided nature of our victory at the ballot box might have the effect of emboldening lawmakers in the state capital to pursue other pro-life and pro-family laws. I’m happy to report this is exactly what occurred.
In the 2013 legislative session, a bill was introduced (HB 391) that would strengthen the parental involvement law that took effect when voters approved LR-120. Whereas LR-120 required parental notification and applied only to nimors under age 16, House Bill 291 proposed to expand the protection of parental rights and teen health by requiring parental consent and applying this to all minors (i.e., under 18).
HB 391 passed both the House and the Senate by overwhelming margins. In April of this year, the bill was sent back to the desk of pro-abortion Governor Steve Bullock, who enjoyed the strong backing of Planned Parenthood when he ran for governor. We expected that Governor Bullock would veto the bill, and we were prepared to overcome that veto placing this issue on the 2014 ballot, once again, for voters to decide.
But it turned out that Governor Bullock was able to read election results as well as anyone else. He decided this was a battle he did not want to fight – at least at the ballot box. Governor Bullock allowed the bill to become law withot his signature – while condemning the bill as “unconstitutional” and welcoming a court challenge.
The court challenge was not long in coming. In May, Planned Parenthood of Montana filed suit to have the law thrown out. Fortunately, Montana has an elected attorney general who is independent of Governor Bullock. Attorney General Fox has pledged to vigorously defend the law in court, with the intent of protecting the will of the voters….
As you know, Alaska voters passed a parental notification measure in 2010. That law is still being challenged in court – but fortunately it has been allowed to stay in effect as the legal challenge has proceeded.
The first full year the law was in effect, 2011, Alaska experienced a 23 percent decline in abortions among minors, compared to the previous year In 2012, the second full year that the law was in effect, there was an additional decline of 22 percent in minor abortions over the previous year’s already lower rate.
To help fight the Montana parental consent lawsuit fight, click here
For updates on the lawsuit, click here.
The people in Montana are a lot smarter than Californians – or maybe the Democrat hold on the people and the Church is not as strong there.
Wow this is awesome! It only makes common sense….BIG TIME! Its the decent thing to do in today’s modern times where parents are undermined so often, now lets pray that we have more parents who have morals too. I just pray that Planned Parenthood doesn’t find a hole somewhere in the law, to break this law.
When this world regains its moral compass abortion will be treated as murder and parental consent/notification will not be an issue.
You are right Ron….we can always pray and hope.
[…] Montana’s parental notification for under 16 years-old is now parental consent for under 18 When Alaska passed a similar bill, abortions among minors declined 23%. Parental involvement saves lives. Parents protect their daughters and their grandchildren. Pray a rosary of thanksgiving for the new law in Montana and work for life. Have you contributed to a crisis pregnancy center lately? The center I work at put in an ultrasound machine several months ago and we are now getting referrals from the health department because we do free sonograms. Every abortion minded woman so far has chosen life for her baby. When moms see their little ones in the womb, the lie about that “blob of tissue” goes flying out the window. And babies live. Support your local CPC. They save lives and you really want to be a part of that! […]