Abortion providers try to block 15-week restriction before it becomes law

A Helena judge on Monday denied a motion filed earlier today by Montana abortion providers seeking to block House Bill 721, a bill that would prohibit the most common procedure for terminating pregnancies after the first trimester.

The bill, which cleared its last vote in the Legislature April 7, has not yet been signed into law by Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte. But in court filings, attorneys for Planned Parenthood of Montana argued that the bill's immediate effective date would cause patients and providers "irreparable harm" by denying constitutional rights and criminalizing an available me...