Tester, Democrats Rally For Abortion Access in Whitefish
Advocates described abortion access as critical to Montanans' freedoms during a widely-attended gathering on Sunday afternoon
By Denali Sagner
Flanked by hundreds of supporters, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester and legislative hopefuls gathered in Whitefish on Sunday afternoon, rallying behind a reproductive healthcare message that Democrats hope will push their candidates to victory next month.
“These candidates know that we are not going back,” Helen Weems, a nurse practitioner and the owner of Whitefish’s All Families Healthcare, said. “They get that abortion is a fundamental human right.”
Joining Tester and Weems on stage were Democratic candidates for governor and lieutenant governor Ryan Busse and Raph Graybill, as well as Mini Timmaraju, president of Reproductive Freedom for All, formerly known as NARAL Pro-Choice America.
Speakers painted a dire picture of the reproductive healthcare landscape in America, recounting the stories of women who have died after being unable to access abortion care, and citing the numerous abortion restrictions passed by the Montana Legislature last year.
Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte in 2023 signed five bills into law that sought to curtail abortion access in Montana, including one that clarified that the right to privacy in the Montana Constitution does not include abortion, and another that banned abortion after 24 weeks and required all pregnant people receive an ultrasound before terminating a pregnancy.
A district court judge temporarily blocked the latter bill in 2023 following lawsuits from All Families Healthcare, Blue Mountain Clinic and Planned Parenthood of Montana.
“This package of pro-family, pro-child, pro-life bills will make a lasting difference in Montana,” Gianforte said at the time of the bill signings.
Speakers at the rally made reference after reference to Idaho, Montana’s neighbor that has become an “OBGYN desert” following the passage of strict abortion bans.
Weems described such Republican legislation as “anti-science” and “not what Montanans want.” She endorsed Democratic candidates, telling attendees they are “not beholden to MAGA” and “the Christian right.”
“Abortion is liberation,” Weems said.
Stephanie Schriock, political strategist and former president of EMILY’s List, a political action committee that aims to elect women in favor of abortion access, spoke on behalf of Monica Tranel. Tranel was scheduled to appear but had a death in the family, Schriock said.
Standing in the middle of his hometown, Schriock took aim at Republican U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, Tranel’s opponent, saying he “does not stand for us” and “does not stand for freedom.”
Zinke on KBZK last month voiced support for a 20-week abortion ban passed by the state Legislature, which was blocked in court, and said, “I’m pro-life, but also I’m not ‘no exceptions … Let’s focus on education, let’s focus on birth control, let’s focus on getting ahead of the problem.”
Sara Busse, wife of Ryan Busse, spoke to the crowd in what she described as her “capacity as a mom.”
She described building a life in Montana under the freedom of its public lands and reproductive healthcare access.
“Parenthood being forced on my boys and their partners when they’re not ready,” she said, foreshadowing what she described as a future without abortion access. “This is not our Montana, and I want my Montana back.”
In a rare side-by-side appearance, Tester described Ryan Busse as a longtime friend and said it would be “political malpractice” if he lost to incumbent Gianforte in November.
The senator called the overturning of Roe v. Wade “the greatest reduction of freedom in my lifetime” and endorsed CI-128, a constitutional initiative that will appear on the ballot next month. If passed, the initiative would enshrine an explicit right to abortion in the Montana Constitution.
Timmaraju, of Reproductive Freedom for All, encouraged the crowd to turn out in support of Tester. She said that Republican Senate candidate Tim Sheehy’s “anti-abortion extremism is out of step with the vast majority of Montanans.”
Sheehy has called CI-128 “not good for Montana” and has repeated debunked claims that Tester and Democrats voted to approved abortion up to the moment of birth.
Democrats have placed abortion front-and-center this election cycle, hoping to use the issue to mobilize their base and draw attention to the stringent abortion restrictions passed by state legislatures across the country. While Montana remains an island of abortion access in the conservative West, speakers on Sunday described a much more restrictive future should CI-128 and Democratic candidates suffer losses up and down the ballot.
If voters don’t reelect Tester, Timmaraju said, “All the good work you’re doing in this state right now to protect your freedoms can be washed away.”
Rally organizers encouraged voters to support down-ballot Democrats, including state House candidates Lindsey Jordan, Debo Powers, Steve Paugh and Dakota Adams. They also offered endorsements of state Supreme Court candidates Katherine Bidegaray and Jerry Lynch, who they described as fair and “non-partisan.”
Powers told the Beacon, “There are lots of women out there who care about this issue, no matter their political party. Especially if you have daughters or granddaughters of reproductive age, it’s really important that they have a choice.”
Montana Republicans, many of whom have backed Supreme Court candidates Dan Wilson and Cory Swanson, have accused the state supreme court of “liberal judicial activism” after it blocked numerous laws passed by the GOP majority.
Ahead of the election, conservative activists and anti-abortion groups have organized training and protest events in the Flathead Valley.
Anti-abortion group 40 Days for Life has organized a regular prayer service outside of All Families Healthcare and has distributed literature calling CI-128 a contradiction to the U.S. constitution. California-based organization Reason for Life is hosting trainings and presentations throughout Montana, including in Kalispell, where its organizers will coach Montanans on how to deter individuals from supporting the ballot initiative.