AG Knudsen Targets the Montana Constitution

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, January 28, 2022

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AG Knudsen Is Coming After the Montana Constitution

Seeks to revoke ruling that protects the right to privacy

Helena, MT – In a filing last week, Attorney General Austin Knudsen asked the Montana Supreme Court to vacate a long-standing filing that protects Montanan’s right to reproductive health care privacy. This move reflects a radical departure from decades of legal precedent known as the Armstrong Ruling. The Armstrong Ruling protects the right to personal autonomy, which includes the privacy of Montanans who seek reproductive health care. AG Knudsen’s filing follows a year of continued public bashing of the Montana Constitution by the MT GOP. In November, Representative Derek Skees (R-Kalispell) said the constitution was a “socialist rag,” and he called for it to be “thrown out”. The threat is not hyperbole– Republican legislators only need 2 more seats to gain a supermajority with the power to enact radical constitutional changes. Now AG Knudsen has taken a dramatic next step in dismantling the legal framework that protects Montanans’ right to privacy. “The Republicans couldn’t make it any clearer – they are coming after the Montana Constitution,” says Sheila Hogan, executive director of the Montana Democratic Party. “This challenge to our constitutionally-enshrined right to privacy and personal autonomy should deeply worry all Montanans.” 

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