Abortion looms as major issue in upcoming legislative session

Montana voters this year rejected a ballot initiative that would have reshaped infant and obstetric care, a proposed law linked by supporters and critics to the national debate over abortion, even as they handed Republicans a supermajority in the statehouse.

Formally called the “Medical Care Requirements for Born-Alive Infants Measure,” LR-131 sought to protect all infants born alive, including infants born during an attempted aborton, by imposing criminal penalties on non compliant medical providers throughout the state. Those penalties included the possibility of a $50,000 fine, up to 20 years in prison, or both.

LR-131, which failed by about 22,500 votes, was sponsored by Rep. Matt Reiger, R-Kalispell, who recently became speaker of the Montana House. Regier did not respond to multiple requests for comment, but – according to reporting by the Montana Free Press – told the House Judiciary Committee in early 2021 that “This goes right down to, are we going to stand for life, or are we going to throw it away.”

Still his home county split on the initiative with 53% of voters in the Flathead backing the measure.

“It wouldn’t be out of line to suggest that Montanans, like many Americans, have mixed and complicated views about the subject matter,” said Sen. Dave Fern, D-Whitefish, the only elected Democrat in the valley. “While the state is generally quite conservative, it doesn’t necessarily mean that those people will wholeheartedly agree with some areas of the Republican platform.”

One of those areas is abortion and reproductive care.

A 1999 Montana Supreme Court decision known in shorthand as Armstrong continues to protect legal abortion access in Montana up until fetal viability, which typically happens around 24 weeks. This is partially due to Montana’s constitutional right to privacy, of which state courts consider abortion, like other medical choices, to be protected.

Montana’s law contrasts the laws of neighboring states, such as Idaho, Wyoming, South Dakota and North Dakota, where restrictions to abortion have been heavily implemented.

While LR-131 did not deal with abortion in itself, many Montanans tied the two concepts together. In the upcoming legislative session, reproductive care, including abortion, is expected to be a big topic, especially as Republicans hold a supermajority in the Legislature for the first time since the advent of the state’s new constitution in 1972. However, there is concern on both sides of the aisle as the legislative session approaches.

“Montanans place a high value on not having government interference in our health care decisions. That will be under attack in the next session,”said Nicole Smith, Executive Director of Blue Mountain Clinic in Missoula.

Sen. John Fuller, R-Kalispell, told the Inter Lake that while he is not specifically introducing any bills this session that deal with abortion access, there are “a plethora of other representatives that are pursuing that avenue.” Many local legislators anticipate the conversation around abortion to be contested during the session, but are leaving the creation of bills to their colleagues.

Sen. Bob Kennan, R-Bigfork, echoed Fuller’s sentiment. Abortion has many single issue voters on both sides of the issue, Kennan told the Inter Lake. It is an issue many of those voters want to see dealt with.

“It won’t be me, but I fully suspect that abortion is going to be an issue [in the upcoming session],” Kennan said.

As of the last week of November, there have been 13 draft requests received for abortion-related issues. Notably, Rep. Amy Regier, R-Kalispell, has requested four and Sen. Ryan Lynch, D-Butte, has requested six.

Amy Regier has already proposed 18 bills for the upcoming session, four of which deal with abortion. She was also the primary sponsor on House Bill 140 in the 2021 legislative session, which passed in April of 2021, but remains contested in the courts. The bill required an individual seeking an abortion to view an ultrasound image and listen to the fetal heartbeat beforehand.

Amy Regier said that most of what she has put in bill drafts focuses on individual freedom and individual rights, but declined to comment on the goal of the abortion drafts.

Lynch, the Democrat from Butte, also has drafted multiple bills addressing abortion on behalf of his political colleagues. The proposed legislation would ensure access to birth control and disease treatment, access to menstruation products, improved abortion safety and ensure students receive accurate education about reproductive rights.

“What we’re trying to do is ensure Montanans have a right to privacy,” Lynch said this week. “That privacy continues to be paramount in Montana.”

As the legislative session approaches, some believe there is a disconnect between what Montanans really want and what legislators are bringing to the table. According to Rep. Laurie Bishop, vice chair of the Montana House Judiciary and a Democrat from Livingston, reproductive care is much more than abortion access. Montanans prefer privacy when weighing health care decisions.

“People are welcome to their own opinions,” Bishop said, “but I certainly don’t think they belong in other people’s health care decisions.”

Reporter Kate Heston can be reached at kheston@dailyinterlake.com.