Montana GOP on Verge of Rescinding a Woman’s Right to an Abortion
When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, it put abortion in the state on the line during the 2023 Montana Legislature.
Now, lawmakers will soon have their final debates on three bills that would limit access to abortion in three main ways: by limiting Medicaid payments for abortions, by criminalizing abortion except in the case of medical necessity and by excluding abortion from Montanans’ right to privacy as it’s protected in the Montana constitution.
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The future of abortion in Montana will unfold in the next month as the legislative session comes to an end, but policy watchers say the stage is set for substantial change. Quinn Leighton is the director of external affairs for Planned Parenthood Montana and they said the organization is expecting that Gov. Greg Gianforte is likely to sign these bills. They said that could impact Motnanans’ ability to make choices about their own reproductive health -- especially low-income, BIPOC, rural or otherwise vulnerable Montanans.
“It really feels like they are attacking abortion care for lower income folks and folks who may rely on public assistance or Medicaid funding. And so, I think looking at low income folks and then folks who have just systemically and institutionally run into barriers to healthcare, so, you know, communities of color, LGBTQ people, transgender people, I think are those who are going to potentially run into continued barriers,” Leighton said.
They also said it’s likely that some of the bills will end up in Montana’s courts.
“The sad reality is that they're -- they're passing these knowing that it will be a waste of taxpayer time and money because they will be litigated later. Knowing, knowing that they're unconstitutional,” Leighton said.