BILLINGS – People on both sides of the abortion issue took to the Yellowstone County Courthouse lawn Tuesday afternoon.
Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana were protesting recent abortion bans that have passed, but many pro-life activists also turned out.
It was part of a nationwide-wide effort called “Stop the ban” as Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana joined other major progressive organizations across the nation.
The President of Planned Parenthood of Montana, Martha Stahl, said it’s important to let politicians know that this is not what the American people want or stand for.
“I think it’s important to know that this is not something that happens just in other states,” said Stahl. “It’s not something that just happens in the south. It’s happening across the country and we need to make sure that we are loud proud about support for women and all people’s rights to make their reproductive health decisions.”
Several people on the other side of this controversial issue were also on hand.
Those in attendance were either protesting or supporting abortion bans that have been passed by seven different state legislatures, including the most recent in Alabama.
The Alabama law is the most restrictive and bans all abortions in the state unless the pregnancy poses a significant risk to the woman’s health. This criminalizes the procedure, making it punishable by up to 99 years in prison for doctors who perform the procedure.
Montana had three abortion-based bills pass through the legislature to the Governor’s Desk. Gov. Steve Bullock vetoed all three earlier this month.
