Gianforte signs series of bills tightening Montana abortion restrictions

HELENA — On Wednesday, Gov. Greg Gianforte highlighted a package deal of laws that can put extra restrictions on abortion entry and on taxpayer cash getting used for abortions.

“At the moment, we’re defending the lives of probably the most susceptible amongst us: unborn kids,” he mentioned.

Gianforte held a signing ceremony in entrance of the Montana State Capitol, with Republican lawmakers and anti-abortion activists in attendance. He signed 5 payments into regulation, and introduced he’ll signal one other 5 that haven’t but reached his desk.

The laws got here out of what Montana Household Basis President Jeff Laszloffy described Wednesday as “probably the most pro-life legislative session within the historical past of the state of Montana.”

Gianforte mentioned one of the vital vital payments was Senate Invoice 154, sponsored by Sen. Keith Regier, R-Kalispell. The invoice would problem the state Supreme Courtroom ruling that established a proper to abortion in Montana, by stating that abortion will not be protected underneath the Montana Structure’s proper to privateness. In 1999, the court docket dominated that constitutional provision does give girls the suitable to an abortion earlier than fetal viability, within the case Armstrong v. State.

“Final session, we handed frequent sense pro-life payments, and a few have been tied up within the courts,” Gianforte mentioned. “However our dedication to do what’s proper for unborn infants, nevertheless, won’t ever waver, and now we have confirmed our dedication in defending life once more this session.”

Gianforte additionally signed Home Invoice 625, sponsored by Rep. Kerri Seekins-Crowe, R-Billings, which might require medical suppliers to provide lifesaving care to infants born alive after an abortion. It’s much like LR-131, a poll measure that was voted down final yr by Montana voters, although supporters added some amendments meant to handle issues in regards to the affect on households whose infants haven’t any probability to outlive long-term.

The opposite payments he signed had been:

· Home Invoice 575, sponsored by Rep. Lola Sheldon-Galloway, R-Nice Falls, which might ban abortion when a fetus is decided to be viable, besides to save lots of the mom’s life. Viability can be presumed at 24 weeks into being pregnant.
· Home Invoice 876, sponsored by Sheldon-Galloway, which might require the state to trace issues linked to remedy abortion.
· Home Invoice 303, sponsored by Rep. Amy Regier, R-Kalispell, which might enable medical suppliers to not take part in procedures they object to on non secular, moral or ethical grounds.

Gianforte additionally introduced his assist for 5 different payments that he described as “pro-life, pro-child and pro-family”:

· Home Invoice 225, sponsored by Rep. Courtenay Sprunger, R-Kalispell, would create a tax credit score of $5,000 for households who undertake a baby, and $7,500 if the kid was within the foster care system.
· Home Invoice 544, sponsored by Rep. Jane Gillette, R-Bozeman, would require prior authorization earlier than Medicaid pays for abortion providers. It basically places into state regulation a coverage that the Montana Division of Public Well being and Human Companies adopted in a current rule.
· Home Invoice 721, sponsored by Home Speaker Rep. Matt Regier, R-Kalispell, would prohibit a selected abortion process that it calls “dismemberment abortions,” besides in case of a medical emergency that happens previous to fetal viability. The process, formally referred to as “dilation and evacuation,” is a type of surgical abortion wherein a fetus is eliminated utilizing forceps or related instruments, and is a typical type of abortion through the second trimester of being pregnant – after 12 weeks.
· Home Invoice 862, sponsored by Rep. Mike Hopkins, R-Missoula, would block utilizing state funding for abortion besides in circumstances of rape, incest and when the girl’s life is at risk. It might convey Montana’s legal guidelines according to the longstanding federal coverage referred to as the Hyde Modification.
· Home Invoice 937, sponsored by Sheldon-Galloway, would require abortion clinics in Montana to be licensed by the state.

It’s possible lots of the abortion-related payments handed this session will face challenges within the courts.