Montana on Tuesday became the eighth US state to put abortion rights on the ballot in the November presidential election, allowing voters to say whether they want to protect the weakened right in the United States.
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Abortion rights are a central issue in the November 5 presidential campaign between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, especially since its federal protection was shattered in June 2022 by a historic decision by the Supreme Court, which has a conservative majority.
If passed, Montana’s ballot initiative would “prevent the government (of this state) to deny or complicate access to the right to abortion before the viability of the fetus,” the Montana Secretary of State’s office noted on its website.
Montana authorities also would not be allowed to deny an abortion if a doctor concludes that the pregnancy poses a threat to the mother’s life.
“The initiative would prevent the government from penalizing patients, health care providers, or anyone who helps someone exercise their right to make voluntary personal decisions about their pregnancy,” the secretary of state’s office added.
A petition to vote on abortion rights in Montana has garnered 81,000 signatures, or more than 10 percent of registered voters, according to NBC Montana.
Montana is the eighth U.S. state to put abortion protection on the November ballot, joining Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Nevada, New York and South Dakota.
Democrats are seeking to make abortion rights a major issue in the election, particularly in key battleground states like Arizona, where President Joe Biden beat Republican Donald Trump by just 10,000 votes in 2020.
Vice President Kamala Harris has emerged as a leading advocate for abortion rights.
Many Republican-led states have moved quickly to restrict or completely ban access to abortion following the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling.
