Republicans in Montana want to make abortion a homicide,and they are close to getting their wish. According to bill S.B. 282, a fetus is viable at 24 weeks and abortions would be illegal after that point—even in cases of medical emergencies. Under this proposed law, a doctor who provides an abortion past this point could be charged with homicide. The bill is on its way to Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock, having passed both the House and Senate earlier this month. It was sponsored by Republican state Rep. Theresa Manzella who believes it is the state’s responsibility to provide protection for all human beings and viable human life.
Of course, Manzella does not believe that this same right of protection extends to adult women who can and should be able to make medical decisions for themselves without the interference of the state. Somehow grown women with decision-making autonomy get left out of this whole equation. Imagine that.
Manzella and her conservative colleagues are leveraging S.B. 282 to advocate for questionably viable fetuses at the expense of (undeniably viable) pregnant women. Most people who have later term abortions do so out of necessity, not flippancy. Discounting this reality oversimplifies the complexities of such a situation and infantilizes people by confiscating their bodily autonomy. What’s more, forcing a patient to undergo a major surgical procedure like a C-section out of political ideology — not medical necessity — is dangerous and unethical.
Though this is scary and wildly inappropriate, it is not guaranteed to become law. While Montana lawmakers seem to have a history of trying to reduce women’s access to choice, they have not been successful in the past.
This fetal viability bill is the latest in a string of attempts to curtail abortion in Montana. The state has a rich history of introducing anti-choice measures, from fetal anesthesia bills to restricting performance of abortions to licensed physicians to redefining life at conception. Nevertheless, according to the Guttmacher Institute, Montana “does not have any of the major types of abortion restrictions — such as waiting periods, mandated parental involvement or limitations on publicly funded abortions — often found in other states.”
Still, this is a part of a dangerous trend in which anti-choice lawmakers around the country are attempting to ban abortions past 20 weeks. Most are really invasive, and some are downright insane.
Kansas passed a regulation requiring changes to fonts used on abortion information sheets, Arizona will require doctors who perform abortions to try and “revive” fetuses if they show signs of life, and Arkansas will force doctors to investigate abortion patients. Other states, including Florida, Texas, and Oklahoma, have likewise tried to make abortion a felony but failed.
Let’s hope that Gov. Bullock vetoes this bill and sends it to the garbage—right where it belongs.