Republican-controlled states advance bills to limit abortion

Republican-controlled states advance bills to limit abortion

SeattlePI.com

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HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Four new proposed abortion restrictions passed the state House Tuesday in Montana, one of several states where GOP gains are lending more momentum to prohibitions on the procedure.

The bills come as President Joe Biden looks to change course nationally on the issue, though the Supreme Court has a conservative majority that's given hope to anti-abortion activists.

In Montana, GOP lawmakers are hoping to capitalize on the election of a Republican governor after 16 years of pro-abortion access Democratic governors.

The Montana bills largely echo legislation already passed in other Republican-controlled states — including a ban on abortion in most cases after 20 weeks of gestation; a requirement that health care providers give pregnant women the opportunity to view an ultrasound before performing an abortion; and a requirement that abortion pills be administered in-person rather than through telehealth. Another bill would ask voters to approve a requirement to care for fetuses born alive during abortion procedures.

Three of the Montana bills are repeats of similar measures vetoed by former Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock last session. Current Gov. Greg Gianforte has promised to “defend life,” giving anti-abortion lawmakers and activists hope that the bills would be signed into law.

The bills, which passed the House largely along party lines, go next to the Montana Senate for consideration.

The votes came after the Biden administration released a statement last week saying he would seek to codify the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision — establishing a nationwide right to abortion in federal law to protect it from court challenges.

The Montana bills are not as severe as measures proposed in other states, including a bill in Arkansas that...

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