{"data":{"id":"us-mt/40-6-708","jurisdiction":"us-mt","citation":"40-6-708","heading":"Construction.","body":"(1) Unless parental rights have been legally waived or legally terminated, parents have inalienable rights that are more comprehensive than those described in 40-6-701 or 40-6-703. The protections afforded by 40-6-701 and 40-6-703 are in addition to the protections provided under federal law, other state laws, the United States constitution, and the Montana constitution.\n(2) Sections 40-6-701 and 40-6-703 must be construed in favor of a broad protection of the fundamental right of parents to direct the upbringing, education, health care, and mental health of their child.\n(3) Nothing in 40-6-701 or 40-6-703 may be construed to authorize a governmental entity to burden the fundamental right of parents to direct the upbringing, education, health care, and mental health of their child.\n(4) If a child has no affirmative right of access to a particular medical or mental health procedure or service, then nothing in 40-6-701 or 40-6-703 may be construed to grant the child's parent an affirmative right of access to the procedure or service on the child's behalf.","path":["TITLE 40. FAMILY LAW","CHAPTER 6. PARENT AND CHILD","Part 7. Rights of Parents"],"source_url":"https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0400/chapter_0060/part_0070/section_0080/0400-0060-0070-0080.html","current_through":"Montana Code Annotated 2025","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T04:55:00Z","sha256":"d4d7d489f8749fb0cca468c456100621074925a8bcb481e34047c3f5212080e2","source_id":"us-mt","stale":false,"prev":"us-mt/40-6-707","next":"us-mt/40-6-1001"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}