In the 2023 legislative session, Republicans introduced 13 bills attempting to limit abortion access, a substantial uptick from the seven anti-abortion bills brought by legislators in 2021, four in 2019, and two in 2017, 2015 and 2013.

The package of anti-abortion bills includes House Bill 625that would create a felony offense for providers who fail care for infants born after an abortion. The protection exists in federal law and infanticide is a crime.

Legislative staff attorneys also said the bill created “potential constitutional conformity issues” with the state Supreme Court’s 1999 ruling granting pre-viability abortion access from a chosen provider.

Friday is the transmittal deadline, when any bill that doesn’t appropriate money or affect state revenues must pass through at least one chamber in order to keep moving forward. On Monday, the House Judiciary Committee held initial hearings on more than a dozen bills, including two that would tighten regulations on abortion in Montana.