Constitutional protection for abortion to be on November ballot in Montana

Montanans calling on the government to protect abortion in state law and stop other bills they say are targeted at people's individual health care rights rallied at the state Capitol in Helena on Friday, April 7, 2023. (Photo by Blair Miller, Daily Montanan)

Voters will get to decide whether they want abortion protected in the Montana Constitution.

The Montana Secretary of State’s Office approved and certified Constitutional Initiative 128 on Tuesday, said Montanans Securing Reproductive Rights in a news release.

“We’re excited that CI-128 will be on the ballot in November, and Montana voters will finally have the opportunity to make their voices heard and protect reproductive rights in November,” said Martha Fuller, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana and spokesperson for MSRR, in a statement. “We could not have accomplished this incredible feat without the dedication of our volunteers and supporters who want to protect their freedom and constitutional right to make private medical decisions.”

Abortion is protected in Montana through the right of privacy in the state constitution and the Montana Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld it since the 1999 landmark case, Armstrong vs. State of Montana.

But since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, Republican legislators across the country have passed laws to restrict reproductive rights.

In Montana, legislators have passed bills to restrict abortion, and Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte has signed them, although courts have later deemed many unconstitutional because they violated the right to privacy found in the state’s constitution.

However, Wednesday, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America said it is “not about to let up on the gas pedal” and will fight the initiative, which it described as “a California-style abortion measure.”

SBA said it is sending canvassers to Helena, Bozeman, Billings and Missoula. The organization said it started its work in April and has a goal to visit 150,000 voters by Election Day.

“As we go door-to-door to educate voters, it is clear this measure is far too extreme for Montanans,” said SBA’s Kelsey Pritchard in a news release. “The people of Montana want to see progress in holding the abortion industry more accountable … . Our field team is fired up to stop CI-128 and ensure that abortion extremism costs Kamala Harris and Jon Tester on Election Day.”

Montanans Securing Reproductive Rights said it submitted more than 117,000 signatures from all 56 counties in support of CI-128, nearly double the number required and “the most signatures ever submitted for a single ballot initiative in Montana history.”

In a statement, Akilah Deernose, executive director of the ACLU of Montana, said advocates for reproductive rights will continue the quest to secure those rights.

“We know extreme anti-abortion politicians in Montana will continue to deceive voters in an attempt to take away our rights,” said Deernose, also a spokesperson for MSRR.  “We will continue to fight for the rights of Montanans to participate in their democracy and make their voices heard.”