# 2024 Montana Initiative 128

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1894Capital referendum
2004Initiative 96
2012Referendum 121
2016Initiative 182
2020Initiative 190
2022Referendum 131
2024Initiative 128 :
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vte :
Initiative 128 was a ballot initiative that appeared on the ballot on November 5, 2024, to establish in the Constitution of Montana a right to abortion up to fetal viability. The initiative was approved by 57.8 percent of voters.

## History

In 1999, the Montana Supreme Court ruled in Armstrong v. State that the state constitution's right to privacy includes abortion access. Governor Greg Gianforte called on the Montana Supreme Court to revisit its decision in Armstrong, following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. In May 2023, the Montana Supreme Court unanimously ruled in Weems v. State that the right to abortion was protected under the state constitution's right to privacy, reaffirming its prior ruling in Armstrong.
In November 2022, Montana voters narrowly rejected Legislative Referendum 131, which would have defined certain infants as "born alive" and compelled medical practitioners to provide life-sustaining care to them, no matter the prognosis, with 52.55 percent of voters opposed. Since then, Gianforte has signed into law several bills restricting abortion access, including legislation to ban dilation and evacuation abortions and another prohibiting Medicare and Medicaid funding for abortions, unless they are the result of rape or incest, though many of these laws have been challenged or struck down in court.
In November 2023, Montanans Securing Reproductive Rights (MSRR) proposed Ballot Measure #14, which would affirm the right to abortion in the Montana Constitution. In January 2024, Attorney General Austin Knudsen challenged the legal sufficiency of the ballot initiative, claiming that the measure "logrolls multiple distinct political choices into a single initiative" and "limits the ability of the state to provide for public health and safety". The Montana Supreme Court rejected Knudsen's challenge in a 6–1 ruling in March 2024, after which Knudsen sought to rewrite the language of the ballot initiative, which was immediately challenged by the MSRR as "confusing, argumentative, and prejudicial". The Supreme Court again rewrote the ballot language in a 6–0 ruling on April 1, 2024, and allowed the ballot initiative to bypass the requirement that it go before an interim committee for an up or down vote since Knudsen never found the proposal to be legally sufficient. Following this ruling, Montana Senate President Jason Ellsworth formed a new special select committee to study judicial oversight and reforms, accusing the Supreme Court of overstepping the separation of powers and alleging multiple other courts of violating the state constitution. Ellsworth also issued a subpoena to Jacobsen for all records tied to Ballot Issue 14, which he said would be "used by a legislative interim committee" to review the ballot issue. The legislative interim committee met on April 18 and voted 6–0 not to support Ballot Measure #14, with the two Democratic members of the committee and groups making up Montanans Securing Reproductive Rights declining to attend the meeting.
Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen sent MSRR its ballot petition on April 5, 2024, a day after the Montana Supreme Court ordered her to do so. MSRR began collecting signatures for Initiative 128 in April 2024, and submitted about 117,000 signatures for the ballot initiative on June 21, 2024. In July 2024, MSRR accused the Montana Secretary of State of invalidating the signatures of inactive voters, prompting a legal challenge. On July 16, Lewis and Clark County District Court judge Mike Menahan ordered the Montana Secretary of State to revert rule changes that led its office to invalidate these signatures and to restore the ones it had rejected. Jacobsen appealed this ruling to the Montana Supreme Court, which unanimously upheld Menahan's ruling. County election officials verified 81,163 signatures as of July 24, 2024, putting Initiative 128 on the 2024 general ballot.

## Campaign

Initiative 128 was supported by Montanans Securing Reproductive Rights, which is led by Martha Fuller, the president of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana, and includes the ACLU of Montana and Forward Montana. It was opposed by the Montana Life Defense Fund, which is chaired by Jeff Laszloffy, the president of the Montana Family Foundation. As of October 2024, pro-amendment groups spent over $11 million on ads supporting Initiative 128, compared to about $105,000 for the referendum's opponents. Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America and Students for Life of America have also reported spending about $160,000 on canvassing efforts opposing Initiative 128.
Supporters of Initiative 128 argued that the constitutional amendment is necessary to prevent Republican legislators from passing bills to restrict abortion in the state. The initiative's opponents argued that the amendment, if passed, would enable late-term abortions and overturn state laws banning Medicaid funding for abortion and requiring parental notification for minors that terminate their pregnancies. Initiative 128 would allow the government to regulate abortions after fetal viability, which it defines as the point in pregnancy when a treating medical provider finds that there is a significant likelihood that a fetus would be able to survive outside the uterus without extraordinary medical measures.

### Endorsements

U.S. Senators
* Jon Tester, Montana (2007–2025) (Democrat)
Statewide officials
* J. B. Pritzker, Governor of Illinois (2019–present) (Democrat)
State legislators
* Kim Abbott, minority leader of the Montana House of Representatives (2021–present) from the 83rd district (2017–present) (Democrat)
* Jill Cohenour, state senator from the 42nd district (2015–present) (Democrat)
* Pat Flowers, minority leader of the Montana Senate (2023–present) from the 32nd district (2019–present) (Democrat)
Individuals
* Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of New York City (2002–2013) (Democrat)
* Ryan Busse, Democratic nominee for governor of Montana in 2024 (Democrat)
* Raph Graybill, attorney and Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in 2024 (Democrat)
* Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood
* Mini Timmaraju, president and CEO of Reproductive Freedom for All
* Monica Tranel, former Olympian rower (Democrat)
Organizations
* American Civil Liberties Union
* Forward Montana
* Freedom From Religion Foundation
* Montanans for Choice
* Planned Parenthood
U.S. representatives
* Ryan Zinke, MT-01 (2015–2017, 2023–present) (Republican)
Statewide officials
* Greg Gianforte, governor of Montana (2021–present) (Republican)
* Roger Koopman, former Montana Public Service Commissioner (2013–2021) (Republican)
State legislators
* Jason Ellsworth, president of the Montana Senate (2023–present) from the 43rd district (2019–present) (Republican)
* Jodee Etchart, state representative from the 48th district (2023–present) (Republican)
* Chris Friedel, state senator from the 26th district (2021–present) (Republican)
* Greg Hertz, state senator from the 6th district (2021–present) (Republican)
* Caleb Hinkle, state representative from the 68th district (2021–present) (Republican)
* Amy Regier, state representative from the 6th district (2021–present) (Republican)
* Keith Regier, state senator from the 3rd district (2017–present) (Republican)
* Linda Reksten, state representative from the 12th district (2021–present) (Republican)
Individuals
* Jeffrey M. Fleming, bishop of the Diocese of Great Falls–Billings
* Tim Sheehy, Republican nominee in the 2024 United States Senate election in Montana (Republican)
* Austin Vetter, bishop of the Diocese of Helena
* Michael William Warfel, bishop emeritus of the Diocese of Great Falls–Billings
Organizations
* Montana Family Foundation
* Students for Life of America
* Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America
Organizations
* American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

## Opinion polls

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | For | Against | Undecided |
| MSU Billings | September 30 – October 16, 2024 | 760 (LV) | ± 3.6% | 60% | 25% | 10% |

## Results

2024 Montana Initiative 128 :
| Choice | Votes | % |
| Yes | 345,070 | 57.76 |
| No | 252,300 | 42.24 |
| Total votes | 597,370 | 100.00 |