GOP-controlled states on quest to limit abortion
HELENA, Mont. – Four new proposed abortion restrictions passed the state House Tuesday in Montana, one of several states where GOP gains are lending more momentum to prohibitions on the procedure.
The bills come as President Joe Biden looks to change course nationally on the issue, though the Supreme Court has a conservative majority that’s given hope to anti-abortion activists.
In Montana, GOP lawmakers are hoping to capitalize on the election of a Republican governor after 16 years of pro-abortion access Democratic governors.
The Montana bills largely echo legislation already passed in other Republican-controlled states – including a ban on abortion in most cases after 20 weeks of gestation; a requirement that health care providers give pregnant women the opportunity to view an ultrasound before performing an abortion; and a requirement that abortion pills be administered in-person rather than through telehealth.
Another bill would ask voters to approve a requirement to care for fetuses born alive during abortion procedures.
Three of the Montana bills are repeats of measures vetoed by former Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock last session. Current Gov. Greg Gianforte has promised to “defend life,” giving antiabortion lawmakers and activists hope that the bills would be signed into law.
The bills, which passed the House largely along party lines, go next to the Montana Senate for consideration.
The Biden administration released a statement last week saying he would seek to codify the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision, establishing a nationwide right to abortion in federal law to protect it from court challenges.
The Montana bills are not as severe as measures proposed in other states, including a bill in Arkansas that would criminalize abortion except to save a pregnant woman’s life. In South Carolina, a newly expanded GOP majority in the state Senate is seeking a ban on abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected – usually around six weeks after conception – except for pregnancies caused by rape or incest.
Several other states have passed similar laws. While they have been blocked in courts so far, anti-abortion activists are buoyed by the appointment of scores of federal judges – including three Supreme Court justices – who are viewed as open to repealing or weakening Roe v. Wade.