Montana leaders react to Roe V. Wade decision
Demonstrators protest about abortion outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Friday, June 24, 2022.The Supreme Court has ended constitutional protections for abortion that had been in place nearly 50 years in a decision by its conservative majority to overturn Roe v. Wade. Friday's outcome is expected to lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Montana’s federal and state elected officials offered mixed reactions Friday to the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and end constitutional protections for abortion.
In Montana where abortion remains legal, state Senate President Mark Blasdel, R-Kalispell, and House Majority Leader Sue Vinton, R-Billings, said they celebrated the ruling and noted decisions ahead for the state's court system.
"As the debate over abortion shifts to the states, all eyes in Montana need to be on our own judicial branch of government," they said in a statement Friday. "Montana judges should rule based on the text of our state constitution, which doesn't mention abortion at all, and overturn the activist and erroneous Armstrong decision. Unlike Montana Democrats who support abortion on demand until the moment of birth, Legislative Republicans are committed to proceeding strategically to protect pre-born Montana children."
Gov. Greg Gianforte called the ruling a historic win.
“I'm in discussions with legislative leaders on next steps as we work to protect life in Montana,” the Republican governor added.
Conversely, the state's Democratic minority leadership pointed to Montana’s Constitutional right to privacy, which protects abortion access.
“With this decision, an all-out ban on abortion is on the table in a way we have not seen for decades," House Minority Leader Kim Abbott, D-Helena, and Senate Minority Leader Jill Cohenour, D-East Helena said in a statement Friday. "Now, our state’s Constitutional right to privacy is the only thing standing between Montanans and the politicians who want to control the most intimate aspects of our private decision making.”
Republican U.S. Sen. Steve Daines described the court decision as ending “a historic injustice.”
“The long overdue demise of judicially-imposed abortion on demand gives bright new hope to unborn children and their moms across America,” Daines stated Friday. “Now the American people begin a new chapter in which they, through their elected representatives at the state and federal level, have the power to end the violence of abortion.”
Democrat U.S. Sen. Jon Tester said the ruling means "women and doctors will be put in jail when exercising this long-held right in states across the country."
"No judge or politician should be telling women how to live their lives or undermining their fundamental right to privacy,” Tester's statement continued.