BOZEMAN — If you voted this year, you were probably faced with the decision of voting yes or no on CI-128. You probably knew it was about abortion, but do you know the deeper meaning behind this initiative? Let's take a closer look.
“That language often is not what we tend to use on a day-to-day basis as we talk with one another,” says Eric Austin, the department head of Political Science at Montana State University.
If you were like many Montanans, confused by the language of Constitutional Initiative 128, don’t worry. You’re not alone. That’s why I met up with Eric Austin, to get a clearer understanding of CI 128.
“I think there are three components to CI-128, the first of which has to do with maintaining the right of individuals to make choices about their access to health care,” he says.
But Austin tells me it’s the other two components that can get a little confusing. The second component? Ensuring doctors are able to determine, one, the viability of the fetus; and two, what, if any, threat there is to the mother’s health.
“And then the third component of it has to do with prohibiting any sort of penalties for providing those services.”
So what does voting yes to CI-128 mean?
“It enshrines this right in the Constitution, which is a pretty high bar. It’s not just a law that’s passed by the legislature. It establishes this right in the constitution,” says Austin.
And voting no?
“Simply means that it is not part of the Constitution.”
Abortion is currently legal in Montana, so why was this initiative put on the ballot? Austin tells me what advocates of 128 say:
“It’s a fundamental right for women to be able to make these choices about their own health care. And so it’s best to enshrine it in the Constitution rather than leaving it up to the legislature” says Austin.
And opponents of 128?
“Enshrining it in the constitution is sort of a step too far.”
So what happens if CI-128 fails?
“That doesn’t necessarily mean that abortion will become illegal as a result of that. It does then increase the likelihood or the possibility that legislature takes this up and enacts laws that are significantly more restrictive than the ones that we have in place now.”
But if CI-128 passes, it will become a part of the state Constitution and therefore out of the hands of the legislature.
