Abortion Policy, Law & Politics

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America and Women Speak Out PAC have canvassed over 3 million doors in key battleground states, including Montana, ahead of the November midterm elections to influence abortion policy and voter turnout.

The Montana House gave initial approval to four bills restricting abortion access and legislation banning transgender women from participating in women's sports and penalizing doctors for gender-affirming care, with most votes along party lines. These bills, some previously vetoed by Democratic governors, now move to the Senate, reflecting the priorities of the new GOP governor Greg Gianforte and legislative leaders in Montana.

Planned Parenthood of Montana is opening its first clinic in Bozeman, aiming to provide local reproductive healthcare services including abortion, STI testing, birth control, and gender affirming care. The clinic, expected to open in early summer 2027, will complement existing centers in Missoula, Helena, Great Falls, and Billings and is not a Title X clinic, meaning it likely will not offer sliding fee scale services.

Abortion remains legal in Montana, but access is limited due to factors like travel distances, high costs, and logistical challenges faced by patients. The Montana Abortion Access Program (MAAP) helps bridge these gaps by providing financial, logistical, and emotional support, funding nearly a quarter of all abortions in the state in 2025.

Montana U.S. Sen. Steve Daines introduced a resolution commemorating the fourth anniversary of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, emphasizing the need to continue defending unborn lives. Despite the federal shift, Montana voters approved a 2024 ballot initiative enshrining abortion rights in the state constitution, with multiple legal challenges to the initiative failing since then.

Montana’s 2024 vital statistics report, which contains the state’s abortion data, was published by the Montana Department of Public Health Services (MDPH) in March 2026. The report shows that reported Montana abortions decreased from 2023 to 2024. The data published by the state does not include the total number of abortions obtained by Montana residents […] The post Abortion Reporting: Montana (2024) appeared first on Lozier Institute .

A Yellowstone County District Court judge upheld Montana's Constitutional Initiative 128, affirming that the full text of the abortion protection amendment does not need to be printed on the ballot. This ruling supports the 2024 voter-approved amendment allowing abortion up to fetal viability and rejects challenges from state Rep. Amy Regier and the Montana Life Defense Fund.

Montana signed into law a version of the Center Autonomy and Rights of Expression Act (CARE Act) in 2025, which protects crisis pregnancy centers from being required to perform or refer for abortions and allows them to sue government entities that violate these protections. The CARE Act, model legislation by the Alliance Defending Freedom, aims to shield crisis pregnancy centers from increased regulation amid shrinking abortion clinic numbers nationwide.

Montana voters approved a constitutional amendment in November 2024 protecting abortion access up until fetal viability, following the Montana Supreme Court's unanimous ruling that the state's Parental Consent for Abortion Act of 2013 was unconstitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Montana's appeal in July 2025, leaving abortion access unrestricted in the state despite ongoing efforts by Republican lawmakers to limit reproductive rights.