Abortion access supporters and opponents hold rallies over proposed ballot initiative

As Montanans begin voting on a measure that would see abortion access enshrined in the state constitution, supporters and opponents held dueling rallies in Northwest Montana over the weekend.

Anti-abortion advocates held vice grips on homemade signs urging voters to reject Constitutional Initiative 128 during high winds on Friday afternoon near the Historic Flathead County Courthouse. Julie Baldridge said they would cancel if the weather turned dangerous, but it’s normal for them to brave the elements to spread their message.   

Baldridge held a sign that read “CI-128 is not necessary,” and said that since abortion is already protected up to fetal viability in Montana, it’s just one way the ballot initiative is “disingenuous.”  

“It's not got anything to do with women's rights and things — we already have rights for abortion up to viability in Montana — so it's not necessary for it to be in our constitution, right?” she said.  

The initiative is the latest attempt to protect abortion access in a state with a Republican majority in the Legislature that has sought to curb it in recent years. In 2023, the Montana Supreme Court barred the state from implementing five bills restricting abortion while litigation surrounding the measures plays out.  

Montana is not alone — following the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade, 13 states have passed laws to ban abortion outright, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.  

CI-128 would amend the Montana Constitution to provide a right for an individual to make and carry out decisions about their pregnancy, including the right to abortion. It would prohibit the government from denying or burdening the right to abortion before fetal viability, as well as denying or burdening access to an abortion when a treating health care professional determines it is medically necessary, according to language in the initiative.  

The proposal also protects against penalizing patients, health care providers or anyone who assists someone in exercising their right to make and carry out voluntary decisions about their pregnancy. 

In 1999, the Montana Supreme Court recognized the right to an abortion through the right to privacy in the state constitution in the case of Armstrong v. the State. Since the overturning of Roe, the court has taken on several cases involving limitations on abortion passed by lawmakers and signed by Gov. Greg Gianforte. Those cases include whether laws restricting Medicaid funding for abortion, prohibiting the most common type of abortion procedure in the second trimester and requiring the offer of an ultrasound prior to an abortion can take effect while litigation continues, according to the Montana Free Press. 

For many opponents, any change that goes toward protecting abortion is a no-go. They see the procedure as murder. Larry and Lois Eslick were among the anti-abortion advocates on Friday who held signs urging passersby to vote against CI-128. 

“We believe in life rather than death, and abortion, by definition, is death to a human body, a human being, so we take it upon ourselves to do this ... It's what we feel that we have to do because our God wouldn't allow us to stand and watch babies being killed without us making some sort of a protest against that,” Larry Eslick said.  

The group MCC Social Advocacy has been a vocal opponent of CI-128. The group’s website outlines why members believe voters should oppose the ballot measure, including that it could impede parental notice and lead to litigation, and is redundant because abortion is currently protected up to fetal viability. 

While there is no formally recognized clinical definition of viability, it is often used to determine if pregnancy is expected to continue developing normally, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Its article on fetal viability said when determining this, clinicians most commonly focus on the periviable period, which refers to weeks 20 through 25 and six days of a pregnancy.   

Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana President and CEO Martha Fuller said she urges voters to read the proposal before believing conclusions drawn by the opposition. Though abortion is currently protected in Montana, she said a constitutional amendment would ensure future laws targeting it will have less of a chance of succeeding.  

“While I do believe that there will continue to be folks who will try to pass laws that restrict access to abortion, ban access to abortion or impact sexual and reproductive health care, having such a clear constitution and a clear right in the constitution will make the challenges to those things much easier in the future,” Fuller said.  

ON SUNDAY, more demonstrations were held about the ballot initiative. Flathead ProLife held its annual National Life Chain in Kalispell to pray for an end to abortion at the same time the Whitefish Reproductive Rights Rally was taking place in Baker Park.  

The rally was part of the Flathead Democrats’ “Weekend of Action,” which encouraged people to join door knocking campaigns for Democratic candidates up and down the ballot as well as voting “yes” on CI-128.  

Attendees carried signs that read “vote like your daughter’s and granddaughter’s rights depend on it” and “real men protect women,” among others encouraging voters to say “yes” to CI-128. 

Stella Peterson is a senior at Lincoln County High School and drove to Whitefish to take part in the rally. She donned a costume from “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood, which she said conveys a message without words. 

"I want to be able to speak for those people without even necessarily having to speak at all. I think this cape kind of speaks for itself. You know what it's from, you know what it's about, and I really like that kind of quiet symbolism,” Peterson said.  

“The Handmaid’s Tale,” which was adapted into a popular streaming series during the Trump administration, is often referenced by pro-abortion advocates because of its dystopian depiction of a future society where women are treated as property and forced to bear children.  

Rallygoers marched from downtown Whitefish to Bakers Park and heard from different speakers and candidates running for office. Among them was Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ryan Busse, his wife Sara Busse and running mate Raph Graybill, and Mini Timmaraju, president and CEO of Reproductive Freedom for All.  

A representative for Monica Tranel, the Democrat running against Republican U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, also addressed rallygoers. 

Helen Weems also spoke at Sunday’s rally. The owner and director of All Families Health Care in Whitefish is among the few abortion providers in the state and has been at the forefront of challenging laws and targeting restrictions. In 2023, the state’s high court ruled in her favor in a challenge brought against a 2005 law restricting which providers can offer abortion services.  

She told the energetic crowd on Sunday that Democratic candidates canvassing the state know that access to abortion is a top concern for many Montanan voters.  

“These candidates know that we are not going back, they know that abortion is essential health care, they know that abortion saves lives ...  abortion bans and trans care bans are anti-science. They are dangerous and the current extremist lawmakers have failed us,” Weems said.  

Absentee voters will receive their ballots by mail on Oct. 11, and polls will open on Nov. 5 at 7 a.m. for people who vote in person. For information regarding election day, visit the Montana Secretary of State’s website at sosmt.gov/elections/.  

Reporter Taylor Inman can be reached at 406-758-4433 or by emailing tinman@dailyinterlake.com.

    All Families Care owner and director Helen Weems speaks to a crowd at the Whitefish Reproductive Rights Rally in Baker Park on Sunday Oct. 6, 2024. (Kelsey Evans/Whitefish Pilot)
  

    Whitefish Reproductive Rights Rally attendees show off homemade signs supporting abortion access. (Kelsey Evans/Whitefish Pilot)
  

    Larry and Lois Eslick hold signs protesting abortion and Montana constitutional initiative 128, which aims to enshrine access to abortion in the state constitution. (Taylor Inman/Daily Inter Lake)
  

    An attendee of an event held by Montana ProLife Coalition in Kalispell on Friday Oct. 4, 2024 holds a sign asking voters to vote "no" on constitutional initiative 128, which seeks to enshrine abortion access in Montana's constitution. (Taylor Inman/Daily Inter Lake)