by John Schneeberger, Democrat for SD43
Women have fought since this country’s founding to win autonomy over their own bodies. I believe that the decision of whether and when to have children should be private and free from governmental interference in all but rare circumstances. We cannot know all the personal and medical reasons behind someone’s decision to terminate a pregnancy, but the government made the right decision in 1973 when it restricted regulation of abortion to the second and third trimesters.
With the decision to overturn Roe vs Wade, the Supreme Court has jeopardized the reproductive freedom of millions of women in the United States.
I believe that abortion should be safe, legal, and available to all women early in pregnancy. Drugs used to terminate an early pregnancy have proven to be safe and effective, and post-viability abortions are already illegal in Montana.
Fortunately, the Montana State Constitution as re-written in 1972 includes a right to privacy, and this has so far prevented Republicans from outlawing all abortions, like they are now doing in many other states.
Let’s be clear, even in states with the most restrictive bans on abortions, women will still make the decision to end their pregnancies; the only change is that for working and lower income women it will now be more dangerous.
The Montana State Legislature that adjourned in April 2021 already passed laws restricting access to early abortions, but Montana abortion rights groups obtained court injunctions to temporarily stop three of them.
The cases will likely be decided by the Montana Supreme Court, so if you believe that abortion should remain safe and legal, please make an informed choice on November 3 between the two candidates running – James Rice, the incumbent, and Ingrid Gustafson, the challenger. The position is supposed to be non-partisan, but you can read about both candidates at https://ballotpedia.org/Montana_Supreme_Court_elections,_2022.
The Republicans are actively working to introduce legislation to circumvent our Montana constitutional right to privacy in order to effectively ban abortion. I oppose any measure that would deny the fundamental human right of reproductive freedom.