2024 Montana Initiative 128

Initiative 128 is an abortion plan that was placed on the ballot in the state of Montana, United States on November 5, 2024. The scheme allows abortion before the baby can live independently once outside the mother. In cases where the mother's health is in danger, doctors are still able to perform an abortion after that point. Initiative 128 aims to provide protection for doctors and medical staff who are involved in the decisions to be made about the patient's pregnancy.

 Background 
In Montana, there have been many important court cases about abortion. In 1999, the Montana Supreme Court decided in a case called Armstrong v State that the right to privacy in the Montana Constitution includes the right to have an abortion before the fetus can live outside the womb. This means the state must have a very strong reason if it wants to limit that right.

In 2022, the United States Supreme Court made a ruling called Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. This decision ended the nationwide right to abortion and said that each state can make its own rules. After that, some Montana leaders, including Governor Greg Gianforte, asked the state Supreme Court to change its decision from 1999. They wanted the Montana Legislature to have more power to make abortion laws.

Even though the governor and others passed new laws to make abortion harder to get, including a law that banned abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy, Montana courts said those laws were not allowed. In 2023 and 2025, the Montana Supreme Court said that the state constitution still protects the right to abortion because of the privacy rule.

In November 2024, the ballot measure called Initiative 128 was approved by 57.8% of Montana voters. It changed the state constitution to clearly say that people have the right to make decisions about their own pregnancy. This includes the right to have an abortion before the fetus is viable. The law also says the government cannot punish people who have, help with, or provide abortions.

 References 

Category:United States law
Category:2024 elections in the United States