When the local NPR notices the winds are blowing in a pro-life direction, you know it’s time to cheer. Enter Montana Public Radio.
Depending when you access yesterday’s post, the headline to Shaylee Ragar’s story is either aggressively hostile (“Republican Lawmakers Attempt to Restrict Abortion Access In Montana “) or more neutral (“A New Day For Anti-Abortion Policy In Montana”).
In either case, her lead paragraph tells you a lot about how politics have changed:
After nearly two decades of a Democratic governor vetoing anti-abortion legislation, Montana is poised for a major change — and possible legal battles — over laws that allow for broad access to abortion.
Gov. Greg Gianforte has been outspoken against abortion access since starting down the campaign trail last year.
“I will be very clear: I am pro-life,” he said. “I think life is precious and it needs to be protected.”
Indeed, as she notes. Gov. Gianforte “doubled down” on his commitment in his first State of the State address last month. Here’s his assurances in full:
We must protect the lives of our most vulnerable: unborn children. I firmly believe all life is precious and must be protected.
I urge the legislature to send me the Montana Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act which protects unborn babies by prohibiting abortion when they can feel pain. I also urge the legislature to send me the Born-Alive Infant Protection Act which requires doctors to perform life-saving care on a baby who’s born as a result of a botched abortion.
These are necessary, compassionate measures where there should be common ground among us, and I will sign them into law.
NRL News Today has kept you up to date on these two proposals [here and here] which have cruised through the House and received initial approval in the Senate. “As the 2021 session continues, legislators may sees as many as a dozen other bills aiming to limit abortion,” Ragar adds.
As NRL News Today discussed previously, those other bills include House Bill 140 which offers the opportunity for abortion-minded women to view an ultrasound of their unborn child; and House Bill 171 that requires women undergoing chemical (or “medication”) abortions first have an in-person visit with a doctor.
She reports that Democrats, although outnumbered, will “push back” but as so often is the case, they are relying on the state Supreme Court to bail them out.
Chelsea Garcia is a political writer with a special interest in international relations and social issues. Events surrounding the war in Ukraine and the war in Israel are a major focus for political journalists. But as a former local reporter, she is also interested in national politics.
Chelsea Garcia studied media, communication and political science in Texas, USA, and learned the journalistic trade during an internship at a daily newspaper. In addition to her political writing, she is pursuing a master's degree in multimedia and writing at Texas.
