Montana governor signs born-alive abortion bill after voters reject it at ballot box

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed legislation to require medical care for infants born alive after botched abortions just months after voters rejected a similar measure on the state ballot.

The Infant Safety and Care Act holds that medical professionals must “exercise the same degree of professional skill, care, and diligence to preserve the life and health” of abortion survivors as they would when treating any other infant born alive at the same gestational age.

“We must protect the lives of the innocent — little babies who are born alive following botched abortions,” said Mr. Gianforte at Wednesday’s bill-signing ceremony.

“Today we’re giving a voice to the voiceless and help to the helpless,” he said. “We’re establishing in Montana law that a baby born alive following an attempted abortion is a patient, a human being who deserves lifesaving care and the right to life.”

The legislation was introduced shortly after the defeat of LR-131, the Born-Alive Infant Protection Act, by 53% to 47% in the November election, a major victory for the pro-choice movement following the fall of Roe v. Wade.

Pro-choice advocates took that race more seriously than their pro-life counterparts. The opposition led by groups including Planned Parenthood spent $1 million while supporters spent zero, according to Ballotpedia.

Republicans addressed several concerns with the proposal raised during the campaign. For example, they reduced the criminal penalties for violations from a maximum of 20 years imprisonment to five, and maximum criminal fines from $50,000 to $1,000. The bill also added a civil cause of action.

In addition, House Bill 625 makes it clear that parents may refuse to give consent for medical treatment that is unnecessary, would potentially do more harm than good, or would temporarily prolong the life of a dying infant.

“The Infant Safety and Care Act does not prevent parents from holding their baby when death is imminent. Parents deserve to share those precious last moments with their child. And we have ensured that the bill language accounts for that,” the bill’s sponsor, Republican state Rep. Kerri Seekins-Crowe, told the Helena Independent Record.

She said the bill “should remove the fear of any medical provider providing reasonably diligent and conscientious health care.”

The measure was one of five pro-life bills signed Wednesday by the Republican governor. Another five bills are making their way to his desk.

Mr. Gianforte also enacted bills to prohibit covering abortions with public funds, including Medicaid funding; protect the conscience rights of health-care providers who refuse to provide abortions; and ban dilation-and-evacuation abortions, also known as “dismemberment” procedures.

Another bill sets up a potential legal challenge by declaring that the constitutional right to privacy does not create a right to abortion. The Montana Supreme Court ruled in 1999 that the right to privacy includes pre-viability abortions.

Proud to stand with Montanans on the steps of the people’s house to defend life, support children, and strengthen families. pic.twitter.com/mGvSSnd54c

— Governor Greg Gianforte (@GovGianforte) May 3, 2023

Planned Parenthood of Montana CEO Martha Fuller accused the governor of “jeopardizing the health and safety of Montanans with new restrictions on access to essential health care” by signing the pro-life legislation.

But the conservative Alliance Defending Freedom cheered the state’s efforts.

“While other states like California and New York are pushing extreme abortion laws that allow abortion on demand up to birth for any reason, Montana is working to protect vulnerable babies,” said alliance senior counsel Denise Burke.

Adam Schwend, SBA Pro-Life America’s Western regional director, commended the governor for the suite of pro-life measures.

“Today’s advances in Montana are a part of an ongoing post-Dobbs trend to advance human rights in the states and provide mothers with more resources during pregnancy and after a child is born,” Mr. Schwend said. “This progress led by bold state leaders is saving tens of thousands of lives across our nation.”