The 2022 Montana Legislative Referendum 131, commonly known as the Born-Alive referendum, was a legislatively-referred state statute in the state of

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

, which was voted on alongside the

2022 elections The following elections were scheduled to occur in 2022. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2022 United Nations Security Council election * 2022 national electoral calendar * 2022 local e ...

in the state. The statute, which sought to define certain infants as "born alive" – including following abortions – and compel medical practitioners to provide life-sustaining care to them no matter the prognosis, was rejected by voters. Montana was one of six states to vote on an abortion-related referendum as part of the

, alongside

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Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

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, and

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. Although the vote was held following the

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's decision in ''

Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ''Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization'', 597 U.S. 215 (2022), is a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, United States Supreme Court in which the court held ...

'', the

Montana Legislature The Montana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to t ...

passed the bill before the decision had been taken.

Background

House Bill 167, referred to as the Born-Alive Infant Protection Act was introduced to the

Montana House of Representatives The Montana House of Representatives is, with the Montana Senate, one of the two houses of the Montana Legislature. Composed of 100 members, the House elects its leadership every two years. Composition of the House In the event that the parti ...

by Matt Regier on 14 January 2021. It provided for a referendum on defining "infants born alive, including infants born alive after an abortion" as legal persons, and that healthcare providers should "take necessary actions to preserve the life of a born-alive infant", with penalties of a $50,000 fine and up to 20 years in prison. The bill passed on party lines in the House and

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, with only 1 defection in either party at the final readings.

Legislative votes

The proposal appeared on the ballot as follows: AN ACT ADOPTING THE BORN-ALIVE INFANT PROTECTION ACT; PROVIDING THAT INFANTS BORN ALIVE, INCLUDING INFANTS BORN ALIVE AFTER AN ABORTION, ARE LEGAL PERSONS; REQUIRING HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS TO TAKE NECESSARY ACTIONS TO PRESERVE THE LIFE OF A BORN-ALIVE INFANT; PROVIDING A PENALTY; PROVIDING THAT THE PROPOSED ACT BE SUBMITTED TO THE QUALIFIED ELECTORS OF MONTANA; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act legally protects born-alive infants by imposing criminal penalties on health care providers who do not act to preserve the life of such infants, including infants born during an attempted abortion. A bornalive infant is entitled to medically appropriate care and treatment. A health care provider shall take medically appropriate and reasonable actions to preserve the life and health of a born-alive infant. A born-alive infant means an infant who breathes, has a beating heart, or has definite movement of voluntary muscles, after the complete expulsion or extraction from the mother. A health care provider found guilty of failing to take medically appropriate and reasonable actions to preserve a born-alive infant's life under this Act faces punishment of a fine up to $50,000 or imprisonment up to 20 years, or both.

Campaign

Committees for both sides in the referendum were entitled to put forward arguments and rebuttals in the voter information pamphlet.

Opposition

Opposition in the referendum came from both the medical community and pro-choice activists. The Montana Medical Association supported a "no" vote as the organisation believed it would limit the options available should an infant be born with little chance of survival. It was noted that cases where fetuses survive an abortion before dying are rare and often the result of other health conditions, meaning the bill was largely unnecessary. Compassion for Montana Families was the main opposition group in the referendum. They argued that the bill was similar to the pro-life templates proposed by the

Americans United for Life Americans United for Life (AUL) is an American anti-abortion law firm and advocacy group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1971, the group opposes abortion, euthanasia, assisted suicide, embryonic stem cell research, and certain contraceptive ...

, and that the language would force medical practitioners to make decisions against the wishes of parents. The arguments against LR-131 in the voter information pamphlet were written by

Diane Sands Haysel Diane Sands (born March 23, 1947) is an Politics of the United States, American politician from Montana. As a Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, she served in the Montana State Senate, representing the 49th senate district in Miss ...

, Alice Buckley, and Leah Miller.

Fundraising

Compassion for Montana Families: No on LR-131 raised a total of $1,047,955, with the largest single donor being the Families United for Freedom PAC. In addition, Montanans Against LR-131 raised $17,611.

Support

Catherine Glenn Foster, the President of

, spoke in favour of the bill during its passage in the House of Representatives. Supporters claimed that a "yes" victory would not reduce

palliative care Palliative care (from Latin root "to cloak") is an interdisciplinary medical care-giving approach aimed at optimizing quality of life and mitigating or reducing suffering among people with serious, complex, and often terminal illnesses. Man ...

options for parents, and that existing laws did not adequately cover all cases. The arguments for LR-131 in the voter information pamphlet were written by Tom McGillvray, Kerri Seekins-Crowe, and Jeff Laszloffy.

Results

By congressional district

"No" won one of two congressional districts, which elected a Republican.https://electionresults.mt.gov/resultsSW.aspx?type=BQ&map=CTY&eid=22

References

{{reflist Montana ballot measures 2022 ballot measures in the United States 2022 Montana elections Abortion referendums United States state abortion legislation