HELENA - A bill that would ask voters to vote on a constitutional amendment to define personhood as starting at conception sparked contentious debate in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.
Sponsored by Rep. Lee Deming, R-Laurel, House Bill 318 is one of the few surviving bills seeking to restrict abortion access in the state. The bill would start the process of amending Montana’s Constitution to define a fetus as a living being by putting the issue to voters via ballot in the November 2026 election.
Erin Laws, representing the Montana Medical Freedom Alliance, spoke in support of HB 316, saying that an embryo has unique DNA after fertilization and is therefore a unique individual.
“The fetus has inherent rights and protections similar to born individuals,” Laws said. “They have no less value than those living outside the womb. We have a moral and legal obligation to safeguard life inside the womb.”
But opponents of the bill argue that abortion is a right that Montanans strongly supported in the last election with the passage of CI-128. Taryn Van Steeland, representing Forward Montana, said the bill would also create a “slippery legal definition of personhood” that could impact IVF treatments, emergency contraception, miscarriage management and general reproductive healthcare during pregnancy.
“It provides no framework in the case of violation, leading us to worry about whether pregnant women or doctors who are just trying to give or receive routine healthcare will be prosecuted,” Steeland said. “Montanans deserve the right to comprehensive reproductive care without government interference.”
HB 316 passed the House with a 58-41 vote before moving to the Senate committee.
Emma White is a reporter with the UM Legislative News Service, a partnership of the University of Montana School of Journalism, the Montana Broadcasters Association and the Greater Montana Foundation. White can be reached at emma.white@umconnect.umt.edu
