Rule requiring prior OK for Medicaid-paid abortions halted

HELENA (AP) — A judge in Montana temporarily blocked a new rule Monday that would have required physicians in the state to provide prior documentation showing that an abortion is medically necessary before the state’s Medicaid program will authorize payment for the procedure.

District Court Judge Mike Menahan wrote that his order “will serve the public interest by ensuring that Medicaid-eligible Montanans continue to have access to constitutionally protected abortions and safe, effective medical care.”

All three of the state’s abortion providers sued in District Court in Helena...