Personhood bill set to pass House, though unlikely to reach threshold to move to voters

A bill seeking an amendment to the Montana Constitution to confer “personhood” rights on embryos passed the House after a 57-43 vote on Tuesday.

In support of House Bill 316, sponsor Rep. Lee Deming, R-Laurel, argued in committee that voters hadn’t fully understood what they had done when they voted to add abortion as a constitutional right in CI-128 in the 2024 election.

But the bill received significant opposition in both its committee hearing and on the floor Tuesday.