A pregnant woman who travels out of Montana for an abortion could be charged with a crime under a bill under consideration in the legislature.
The proposal, which was the subject of an hour-long House Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday, adds a new layer to abortion travel bans that have gained support in several red states since the overturning of Roe v. Wade over concerns that they violate constitutional rights to free speech and interstate travel.
It would create a criminal offense of “abortion trafficking” for certain individuals involved in traveling across state lines for abortions. But unlike new laws in Idaho and Tennessee that apply to adults who transfer pregnant minors, the Montana bill would extend penalties to anyone involved in transporting an “unborn child” for an abortion that would be illegal in Montana.
It stipulates that penalties can be imposed against the mother. Convictions would carry a fine of up to $1,000 and possibly up to 5 years in prison.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Kerri Seekins-Crowe (R), said at the hearing she didn’t know how many pregnant women could be found guilty or imprisoned under the proposed charge, but that the scope of the bill would be “very, very narrow” because it would apply only to abortions that are illegal under Montana law.
“If I’m called an extremist for standing up for those Montanans that don’t have a voice, I will accept that,” Seekins-Crowe said.
Dozens of opponents testified that the proposal could criminalize the small percentage of patients seeking care for severe fetal anomalies discovered too late to legally obtain an abortion in the state.
“This bill is testing the limits to see how far the anti-abortion extremists can go,” said Elizabeth Sutton, who appeared on behalf of Montanans for Choice. “We will not stand by and let our people be surveyed, policed or criminalized for accessing the health care that they need.”
About 1% of abortions nationwide are performed after the 21st week of pregnancy. Montana allows abortions until fetal viability, typically around the 23rd or 24th week of pregnancy.
The state’s voters, with 58% supporting it, approved a constitutional referendum in November that guarantees the “right to make and carry out decisions about one’s own pregnancy, including the right to abortion,” and prohibited the “government from denying or burdening the right to abortion” before fetal viability or when a medical professional determines it is necessary to preserve the pregnant person’s life or health, according to the ballot language.
The referendum also prevented “the government from penalizing patients, healthcare providers, or anyone who assists someone in exercising their right to make and carry out voluntary decisions about their pregnancy.”
The bill is at an early legislative stage, and its passage is far from certain. But national Democratic and abortion rights groups have seized on it as an example of abortion opponents’ increased comfort with the idea of subjecting abortion seekers to criminal penalties, a departure from earlier strategies that focused instead on penalizing abortion providers.
Legislators in at least four states have introduced bills this year that would change the legal definition of homicide to include abortion. Several states are also considering proposals to extend “personhood” rights to embryos and fetuses.
“While Democrats across the country are focused on lowering costs and expanding health care access, Republicans are focused on prosecuting women,” said Lauren Chou, spokesperson for the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee. “Beyond attacking Montana voters who voted decisively to protect abortion rights, state Republicans are once again abusing state legislatures as a testing ground for their most extreme policies.”
Both the Idaho and Tennessee abortion trafficking laws have been challenged in court by abortion rights groups. A federal appeals court ruled in December that the Idaho law, passed in 2023, could mostly take effect while a lawsuit challenging its constitutionality continues. Tennessee’s law has been blocked by a federal judge since September.