Montana officials on Tuesday approved a proposed amendment for the November ballot which would enshrine the right to abortion throughout pregnancy into the state constitution.
“Supporters ended up with more than 81,000 signatures, about 10.5 percent of registered voters. The campaign needed just over 60,000 signatures and to qualify 40 or more of the 100 state House districts by gathering the signatures of at least 10 percent of the number of people who voted for governor in 2020 in that district. The initiative qualified in 59 districts,” the Associated Press reported.
The measure seeks to enshrine a 1999 Montana Supreme Court ruling that said the constitutional right to privacy protects the right to a pre-viability abortion by a provider of the patient’s choice.
The proposed amendment would allow for abortions throughout pregnancy, per the judgment of a doctor to protect a woman’s life or health, and would prevent the government from penalizing anyone involved in their own or another’s voluntary decision to have an abortion.
The proposed measure states:
CI-128 would amend the Montana Constitution to expressly provide a right to make and carry out decisions about one’s own pregnancy, including the right to abortion. It would prohibit the government from denying or burdening the right to abortion before fetal viability. It would also prohibit the government from denying or burdening access to an abortion when a treating healthcare professional determines it is medically indicated to protect the pregnant patient’s life or health. CI-128 prevents the government from penalizing patients, healthcare providers, or anyone who assists someone in exercising their right to make and carry out voluntary decisions about their pregnancy.
The coalition behind the ballot measure is comprised of pro-abortion groups including Planned Parenthood of Montana, ACLU of Montana, Forward Montana, and Fairness Project. The effort comes after Montanans voted against an amendment in 2022 that would have mandated that infants who are born alive, including those who survive botched abortions, are legal persons entitled to life-saving medical care.
Abortion is currently legal in Montana up to fetal viability, which is the stage of pregnancy when a baby has developed enough that it is able to survive outside the womb with medical intervention — typically around 22 to 24 weeks.
Republicans in the state have tried to pass laws limiting abortions. However, courts — citing the Montana Supreme Court’s 1999 ruling — have blocked several of them, including a 20-week abortion restriction, a ban on prescription of medication abortions via telehealth services, a 24-hour waiting period for medication abortions, and an ultrasound requirement, AP noted. Just last week, the state’s high court overturned a 2013 law and ruled that minors in Montana do not need parental permission to have an abortion.
Montana is one of nearly a dozen states where pro-abortion activists are working to codify the right to kill the unborn. So far, voters in Montana, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Nevada, New York, Missouri, and South Dakota will have the opportunity to vote on abortion measures this year. Similar measures are underway in several other states.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.
