Montana will prohibit local governments from targeting pro-life pregnancy centers as such organizations have faced the ire of vandals and Democratic politicians increasing regulatory pressure in other states.
Montana’s Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte signed House Bill 388 into law Thursday. The legislation prohibits state and local governments from adopting laws that require pro-life pregnancy resource centers to “offer or perform abortions” or offer, provide, distribute, refer for and promote abortion-inducing drugs or contraception.
The measure passed the Republican-controlled Montana House of Representatives in a 57-41 vote and cleared the Republican-controlled Montana Senate in a 31-19 vote.
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Local governments will also be prohibited from forbidding pro-life pregnancy centers from offering abortion pill reversals and other services because of their opposition to abortion.
HB 388 lists “pregnancy tests, peer counseling, 24-hour telephone hotlines, childbirth and parenting classes, referrals to community health care, [and] adoption referrals” as examples of the “free, confidential, and compassionate services” provided by pro-life pregnancy centers.
A 2023 report compiled by the Charlotte Lozer Institute, the research arm of the pro-life advocacy group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, found that pro-life pregnancy centers provided more than $350 million worth of free goods and services nationwide in 2022.
Under the new law, local governments also will not be allowed to require pro-life pregnancy centers to “interview, hire, or continue to employ a person who does not affirm the center’s mission statement or agree to comply with the center’s pro-life ethic and operating procedures.”
Pregnancy centers that feel their rights under the law have been violated have the opportunity to seek redress in court in the form of damages of up to $50,000 and attorney’s fees.
The passage of HB 388 comes as pregnancy centers have experienced what the bill calls “unprecedented attacks” since the United States Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson’s Women’s Health Organization.”
The ruling determined that the U.S. Constitution does not contain a right to abortion, angering pro-abortion activists who targeted pro-life pregnancy centers and churches with violence and vandalism beginning in May 2022, when Politico published a leaked draft of the decision.
“Many women seeking abortions say they’d prefer to choose life if they had more support,” said Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Denise Burke in a statement reacting to Gianforte’s approval of HB 388. “While pregnancy centers can fulfill that need, they face real and growing threats.”
Burke said the law “ensures that pregnancy centers can continue to provide meaningful, life-affirming care to women, families, and the communities they serve.”
“[B]y protecting pregnancy centers, we affirm the dignity of women and prioritize the physical, emotional health, and well-being of the woman, her baby, and the family,” Burke said.
The bill was opposed by abortion rights activists, including the Quinn Leighton of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana, who believe that these centers need government regulation as some are not subject to HIPAA patient privacy laws.
“Unregulated pregnancy centers could tell a patient anything, whether it’s true or not,” Leighton told KTVQ. “And they could also treat a patient based on their own opinions rather than the medical options that are available to them.”
In addition to the violence and vandalism directed at pro-life pregnancy centers, such centers have also been the subject of harsh rhetoric from Democratic lawmakers at both the state and federal levels.
For example, Massachusetts launched a $1 million ad campaign against pro-life pregnancy centers while Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has called for them to be shut down because they “fool people who are looking for pregnancy termination help.”
The partisan divide on pro-life pregnancy centers was reflected in the votes on HB 388. All support for the measure came from Republicans, while nearly all opposition came from Democrats. One Senate Republican broke from his party to join Democrats in opposing the legislation.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
