Voting is not always easy when there seems to be a lot of opposing information as well as missing information. Our hope is to help you sort through the weeds and get clarity on what you are voting for as well as the ramifications of our votes in action. The biggest issue regarding abortion that we’re facing on our Montana ballot is CI-128.
Constitutional Initiative 128 (CI-128) is on the 2024 ballot. It’s extremely important that you understand what this initiative will allow, how its ambiguity of language creates medical concerns for women and how it affects the abortion landscape in our state. Because this is a constitutional amendment, it’s important to first understand what that means.
The constitution of the state of Montana is the basic governing document of the state. It sets the parameters for every other law that the legislature may seek to establish. The judicial branch of the state is bound to uphold the constitution as the supreme law of the state. The executive branch of the state swears to support, protect, and defend the constitution of the state of Montana. Any change to the constitution should be a matter of grave importance to the citizens of that state.
What is CI –128 on the Montana Ballot?
Constitutional initiative 128 (CI-128) is a change to the constitution of the state of Montana. It would amend the constitution to add this new “right.” The “right” that it is suggesting is that “there is a right to make and carry out decisions about one’s own pregnancy, including the right to abortion.” The supreme law of the state of Montana would state that abortion is a fundamental right of every citizen that would put abortion on the same level as the right to freedom of religion or speech. Is abortion really that kind of fundamental right?
What CI-128 would Change and would NOT Change in Montana
- Abortion would become a constitutional right.
- Did you know that Montana is one of the most pro-abortion states at this date? Only Montana and seven other states have abortion as a constitutional right on the ballot for this November. There are yet no other states granting this right by constitution.
- It allows for unregulated abortions.
- Only eight states have laws allowing abortion without any gestational age restrictions. Montana would be the ninth. CI-128 will allow for extreme abortions at any stage of pregnancy, including late term and partial birth.
- It designates any healthcare professional fit to prescribe abortion.
- The text of the amendment allows any healthcare professional to prescribe an abortion. By leaving “healthcare professional” undefined, a wide range of unqualified people can be used to permit an abortion.
- It allows any “health” concern as a reason for abortion.
- This renders any health concern an excuse for abortion. The text of the amendment states that abortion can be ordered to protect the life or the “health of a pregnant patient.” By leaving “health” undefined, nearly any concern can be used as an excuse for an abortion.
- It prevents the legislature or executive branch from regulating abortion.
- The text of the amendment declares that after fetal viability, in no circumstance, shall the government deny or burden access to an abortion. It will erase decades of well vetted laws put in place by Montana to protect women and babies from undo harm.
- CI-128 eliminates existing parental notification laws for abortion making it the only medical decision for which parents will have no say for their children.
Frequently Ask Questions about CI-128, Abortion and Viability of Life
Q: Is a willful abortion and a miscarriage (spontaneous loss of a pregnancy – medical term is spontaneous abortion) the same?
A: No. A miscarriage is a spontaneous loss of a pregnancy before the 20th week gestation. A willful abortion is a medical procedure that intentionally ends a pregnancy.
Q: Is treating an abortion and a miscarriage the same?
A: No. A woman who chooses to terminate her pregnancy before the gestational age of 10-11 weeks may be offered the abortion pill, also known as RU-486 or medical/medication abortion. While the body may experience some of the same symptoms, a medical abortion is an unnatural ending of a pregnancy by choice.
Treating a miscarriage is not the same as treating an abortion. The intent of a doctor performing an abortion is to terminate a pregnancy, and that is not the intent of a doctor who may need to intervene to treat a woman who has already lost her baby, or even who may be experiencing an ectopic pregnancy.
Q: Is it illegal for a doctor to intervene in a pregnancy when the life of the mother is at risk?
A: No. There is not a single state where it is illegal for a doctor to provide saving measurements to the mother.
Q: When facing a miscarriage, can women receive medical support in states where abortion is illegal?
A: Yes. Miscarriage support and treatment is not illegal any state.
Q: Can babies survive at 23 weeks gestation?
A: Nearly 50% of babies born at 23 weeks survive. Currently, babies in Montana can be aborted up to 24 weeks.
Per the Montana Code Annotated 2023, viability is “…based on the best available science and survival data, with viability presumed at 24 weeks gestational age and any period of time after that. A calculation of gestational age must take into account a margin of error and, if uncertainty exists regarding viability, there is a presumption of viability.
Q: Does CI-128 define viability?
A: No. Judgment by a “medical professional”, not just a physician, will be allowed to determine if a baby should be given life saving measurements to ensures he or she to survive.
Per the American College of Obstetrician and Gynecologists – “No test can determine whether a fetus can survive outside the uterus. The odds that a fetus will survive are often based upon clinical judgment, using data points that reflect a population.”
Per the Montana Code Annotate, “Viability” means the ability of a fetus to live outside the mother’s womb, albeit with artificial aid.” CI-128 language will replace our current Montana Code, thus making this a very dangerous initiative.
Q: Should definition of words be included in ballot initiatives?
A: Yes- “avoids uncertainty of meanings & resolves ambiguity.” CI-128 has omitted definitions and has permitted dangerous ambiguity.
Q: Who is funding CI-128?
A: CA $4.4M, VA $2.6M, NY $1.8M, D.C. $4.6M
Q: Does CI-128 ensure decisions are between the patient and her physician?
A: No. Abortion decisions would include “Medical Professional”.
Currently abortion in our state can only be provided by medical providers, i.e. mid level providers – physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners. The constitutional amendment restates what is allowed to be “medical professionals”, which includes – “…a person who is licensed or certified to provide health care services to natural persons, including but not limited to a chiropractor, clinical dietitian, clinical psychologist, dentist, nurse, occupational therapist, optometrist, pharmacist, physical therapist, physician, podiatrist, psychiatric social worker, or speech-language pathologist.”
Q: Does CI-128 legalize a physician intervening when the mother’s life is at risk?
A: No, this is already legal in MT!
Q: Does CI-128 legalize abortion in Montana?
A: No, abortion is already legal in MT!
