Abortion in Montana

The abortion debate most commonly relates to the "induced abortion" of an embryo or fetus at some point in a pregnancy, which is also how the term is used in a legal sense.[note 1] Some also use the term "elective abortion", which is used in relation to a claim to an unrestricted right of a woman to an abortion, whether or not she chooses to have one. The term elective abortion or voluntary abortion describes the interruption of pregnancy before viability at the request of the woman, but not for medical reasons.[1]

Anti-abortion advocates tend to use terms such as "unborn baby", "unborn child", or "pre-born child",[2][3] and see the medical terms "embryo", "zygote", and "fetus" as dehumanizing.[4][5] Both "pro-choice" and "pro-life" are examples of terms labeled as political framing: they are terms which purposely try to define their philosophies in the best possible light, while by definition attempting to describe their opposition in the worst possible light. "Pro-choice" implies that the alternative viewpoint is "anti-choice", while "pro-life" implies the alternative viewpoint is "pro-death" or "anti-life".[6] The Associated Press encourages journalists to use the terms "abortion rights" and "anti-abortion".[7]

Free birth control correlates to teenage girls having a fewer pregnancies and fewer abortions. A 2014 New England Journal of Medicine study found such a link.  At the same time, a 2011 study by Center for Reproductive Rights and Ibis Reproductive Health also found that states with more abortion restrictions have higher rates of maternal death, higher rates of uninsured pregnant women, higher rates of infant and child deaths, higher rates of teen drug and alcohol abuse, and lower rates of cancer screening.[8]

According to a 2017 report from the Center for Reproductive Rights and Ibis Reproductive Health, states that tried to pass additional constraints on a women's ability to access legal abortions had fewer policies supporting women's health, maternal health and children's health.  These states also tended to resist expanding Medicaid, family leave, medical leave, and sex education in public schools.[9] According to Megan Donovan, a senior policy manager at the Guttmacher Institute, states have legislation seeking to protect a woman's right to access abortion services have the lowest rates of infant mortality in the United States.[9]

Poor women in the United States had problems paying for menstrual pads and tampons in 2018 and 2019. Almost two-thirds of American women could not pay for them. These were not available through the federal Women, Infants, and Children Program (WIC).[10] Lack of menstrual supplies has an economic impact on poor women.  A study in St. Louis found that 36% had to miss days of work because they lacked adequate menstrual hygiene supplies during their period.  This was on top of the fact that many had other menstrual issues including bleeding, cramps and other menstrual induced health issues.[10] As of November 2018, fstates did not have a state sales tax and so menstrual items were not taxed.[11][12][13][14]

In the period between 1972 and 1974, there were zero recorded illegal abortion death in the state.[25] In 1990, 84,000 women in the state faced the risk of an unintended pregnancy.[20] Between 2011 and 2014, the abortion rate in Montana declined 26%.[17] In 2013, among white women aged 15–19, there were  abortions 180, 0 abortions for black women aged 15–19, 10 abortions for Hispanic women aged 15–19, and zero abortions for women of all other races.[26] In 2014, 56% of adults said in a poll by the Pew Research Center that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.[27] In 2017, the state had an infant mortality rate of 5.4 deaths per 1,000 live births.[9]

State Medicaid coverage of medically necessary abortion services. Navy blue: Medicaid covers medically necessary abortion for low-income women through legislation. Royal blue: Medicaid covers medically necessary abortions for low-income women under court order. Gray: Medicaid denies abortion coverage for low-income women except for cases of rape, incest, or life endangerment.

Seventeen states including Montana use their own funds to cover all or most "medically necessary" abortions sought by low-income women under Medicaid, thirteen of which are required by State court orders to do so.[32] In 2010, the state had 422 publicly funded abortions, of which were 5 federally funded and 417 were state funded.[33]

An unnamed woman seeking an abortion in Flathead Valley in 2018 said, "In the Valley it's like, if you want to have an abortion or you want to not carry whatever to term, you're placed in a category of an irresponsible, ill-fitted individual. [...] I'm still trying to focus on getting my life together. [...] So how can I sacrifice all my goals, my dreams, my aspirations, everything I'm still working on, due to an irresponsible act of adulthood? That's being responsible so that I don't to put myself through an abortion again. Essentially in the end, I'm the one who is in this room by myself, making this choice, making this decision."[15]

In 2018, women in Flathead Valley were waiting for insurance companies to pay for IUDs or implants.  While waiting for the company to pay, they got pregnant and ended up getting an abortion.[15]