House Kills Bill to Ban mRNA Vaccines in Montana
The measure would have prohibited COVID-19 vaccines and boosters by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, the only mRNA vaccines currently approved by the Federal Drug Administration
By Zoë Buhrmaster
The state House of Representatives on Wednesday afternoon voted down a bill that would have banned the use of mRNA vaccines in Montana.
Sponsored by Greg Kmetz, R-Miles City, House Bill 371 would have prohibited COVID-19 vaccines and boosters by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, the only mRNA vaccines currently approved by the Federal Drug and Administration (FDA), while placing a moratorium on further research into mRNA vaccines for other diseases.
The bill went down with 66 representatives voting against and 34 in favor. Local representatives who opposed the measure included Rep. Amy Regier, R-Kalispell; Rep. Terry Falk, R-Kalispell; Rep. Courtenay Sprunger, R-Kalispell; Rep. Lyn Bennett, R-Columbia Falls; Rep. Debo Powers, D-Whitefish; and Rep. Tracy Sharp, R-Polson; however, both Regier and Sharp supported the measure during its original passage out of the House Judiciary Committee.
Proponents of the bill argued that mRNA vaccines have resulted in fatalities and an uptick in cancer rates, citing personal experiences and studies presented during the committee hearing.
Opponents highlighted medical freedom, “thousands of people in Montana with compromised immune systems” who cannot afford to travel out of state for vaccinations, and the millions of lives they credited mRNA vaccines with saving during the pandemic due to mRNA vaccines. Both sides included depictions of personal experiences with the vaccine and its side effects.
The bill would have made Montana the first state to prohibit the administration of any mRNA vaccines. Idaho is the only other state to have introduced legislation to ban mRNA vaccines, with a contingency of 10 years, as reported by the Idaho Statesman.