BILLINGS — Tuesday night was a win for pro-abortion rights supporters across the state.
Constitutional Initiative 128 will be on your November ballot. and if it passes, abortion rights will be added to the Montana Constitution.
Putting amendment CI-128 on the ballot has been a long process for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana. So, when Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen' office officially added the proposal to November's election, they were thrilled.
"(I am) just delighted and really happy for Montanans Securing Reproductive Rights... and really for the voters of Montana, who are going to have a say on this issue, come November," says Martha Fuller, the CEO of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana. Fuller is also the CEO and President of Montana Planned Parenthood clinics.
If CI-128 were to be passed this November, abortion would become a legally protected right in the Montana Constitution, allowing care before fetus viability (which is typically 24-28 weeks). Fetus viability means the fetus is "viable" enough to survive outside of the womb.
CI-128 would also give women the choice to have abortions later than viability, in the case that their healthcare provider recommends it.
"We felt that it was really important to make sure that we are protecting this right, for now, and for future generations of Montanans," says Fuller.
CI-128 went through a number of challenges, including from Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen who argued the amendment was "not legally sufficient." But he was overruled by the Montana Supreme Court earlier this year.
Knudsen and his office declined to comment further on the matter on Wednesday.
The decision will now come down to voters. Several approached by MTN News in downtown Billings Wednesday voiced their support for the measure.
"I think (CI-128) is great. I think that people should have access. I don't think that people should be told that they can't, if they need it, or whatever. I don't think people should be told no," says Angie Wahl of Billings.
"We have to be safe about abortions, and whatnot. So, not everything can be planned. So, if women have to take the next step, that's okay," says Clayton Denny, another Billings resident.
The vote will be closely watched in November. MTN News spoke Wednesday to Cindy Nordstog, the CEO of the Billings pregnancy center, LAVIE Health. She declined to do an on-camera interview. LAVIE Health is a pregnancy center that promotes alternatives to abortion.
As of now, abortion in the state of Montana is still legal, just not protected by the Montana Constitution. However, according to Fuller, is only becoming more accessible.
"That increase of access, through things like Tele-Health, has just been phenomenal over the last couple of years," she said.
