Montanans to vote on guaranteeing right to an abortion

Havre Daily News staff

Montanans in the general election will vote on a proposal to put a woman’s right to have an abortion in the Montana Constitution

That right was guaranteed federally until the U.S. Supreme Court two years ago overturned Roe versus Wade, a 50-year-old Supreme Court ruling that, with following rulings, allowed women to choose to have an abortion at least until fetal viability, usually considered to be about the 24th-28th week of pregnancy.

After Roe v. Wade was overturned, a 1999 Montana Supreme Court ruling that Montana’s Constitution protects pre-viability access to abortion continues to protect a woman’s choice to have an abortion before the fetus is viable and later to protect the health or life of the mother, as did Roe v. Wade.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and other medical associations, have made statements saying that abortions can be necessary to save the life of the mother in some cases,

Supporters of the bill say it will codify what already exists in Montana and prevent lawmakers from implementing additional restrictions or bans.

Opponents, in addition to arguing that lawmakers should save the lives of unborn children, say the initiative has language that would create other problems aside from allowing women to have abortions.

Following is the language, obtained from the Montana Secretary of State’s website, on the language that will be on the ballot and the actual text of the initiative.

Ballot language: “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 COMPLETE TEXT OF CONSTITUTIONAL INITIATIVE NO. 128 (CI-128)

Article II of the Montana Constitution is amended to read:

Section 36. Right to make decisions about pregnancy.

(1) There is a right to make and carry out decisions about one’s own pregnancy, including the right to abortion. This right shall not be denied or burdened unless justified by a compelling government interest achieved by the least restrictive means.

(2) The government may regulate the provision of abortion care after fetal viability provided that in no circumstance shall the government deny or burden access to an abortion that, in the good faith judgment of a treating health care professional, is medically indicated to protect the life or health of the pregnant patient.

(3) The government shall not penalize, prosecute, or otherwise take adverse action against a person based on the person’s actual, potential, perceived, or alleged pregnancy outcomes. The government shall not penalize, prosecute, or otherwise take adverse action against a person for aiding or assisting another person in exercising their right to make and carry out decisions about their pregnancy with their voluntary consent.

(4) For purposes of this section:

(a) A government interest is “compelling” only if it clearly and convincingly addresses a medically acknowledged, bona fide health risk to a pregnant patient and does not infringe on the patient’s autonomous decision making.

(b) “Fetal viability” means the point in pregnancy when, in the good faith judgment of a treating health care professional and based on the particular facts of the case, there is a significant likelihood of the fetus’s sustained survival outside the uterus without the application of extraordinary medical measures.

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