One of the more interesting legal issues to arise recently in Montana looks as though it’s going to be resolved out of court.
Earlier this month, the Montana Supreme Court stepped in to stop a court-ordered hysterectomy for a woman with cancer who had been judged incompetent to make decisions about her medical care. The case was to come back before the court within 30 days, but in the meantime, the woman involved has changed her mind:
A Frenchtown woman whose court-ordered hysterectomy for her cancer was halted earlier this month by the state Supreme Court has decided to go ahead with the surgery after all, according to a motion filed last week.
“After further consultation with her physicians and surgeons, (she) believes the medical treatment recommended is in her best interests,” said the motion filed Thursday in Missoula County District Court by public defender Greg Hood.
The woman “has expressed her wish that the medical procedure at issue in this case proceed as soon as can practicably be scheduled.”
By its existence, the motion calls into question further Supreme Court proceedings in the case, in which three different organizations sought to file “friend of the court” briefs on behalf of the woman.
Read the rest in today’s Missoulian.