A Montana judge on Thursday temporarily blocked the state from enforcing a 15-week abortion ban, saying the restriction could not be enforced because it likely violates the state constitution.
Planned Parenthood on Tuesday asked the judge, Mike Menahan, to temporarily block the law just hours after Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte's office announced he had signed the legislation.
"Whereas plaintiffs and their patients face immediate, irreparable harm, defendants will not be harmed by the issuance of a temporary restraining order that preserves the status quo," he wrote in the short order.
Martha Fuller, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Montana, said she was glad the judge recognized the harm that anti-abortion laws cause to patients seeking basic health care.
"Politics has no place in the exam room, and we will not stand by as lawmakers race to take away access to abortion and strip us of our personal freedom," Fuller said.
The state of Montana argued that the law did not completely ban dilation and evacuation abortions. The procedure could still be done if the provider kills the fetus first by injecting it with a drug or saline solution, thus preventing the fetus from feeling pain, the state said in a court filing.
Montana's Supreme Court ruled in 1999 that the state constitutional right to privacy includes the right to a pre-viability abortion from a provider of the patient's choice, the lawsuit states.
Under the new ban, which took effect immediately, anyone who performs a dilation and evacuation abortion can be charged with a felony that can be punished by five to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000. There are exceptions for medical emergencies.
The new law "is a grave threat to Montanans' health and safety and must be blocked," Fuller said in a statement. "Given the law's immediate effective date, patients across the state can already be denied access to care that was legally available moments before the governor's signature today."
Menahan said he would hear arguments about the law next Tuesday, a time he has also set aside to hear arguments against a law that requires a woman to undergo an ultrasound before having an abortion and a new rule that requires prior authorization before Medicaid will pay for abortions.
Menahan restrained enforcement of the ultrasound law and the prior authorization rule earlier this month.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
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