Pro-active legislation passed and signed into law:

HB 307 – Rep. Don Roberts (R-Billings) Allows licensed medical practitioners to dispense drugs if there is no local pharmacy in the community or if the pharmacy does not stock or dispense the drug. This bill was signed by the Governor on April 6, 2009.

HB 372 - Rep. Franke Wilmer (D-Bozeman) Provides that a judge may grant an 1 year deferral from jury duty for breastfeeding mothers or other persons with a full time dependent. This bill was signed by the Governor on April 6, 2009.

SB 350 - Sen. Kim Gillan (D-Billings) Incorporates CDC guidelines for routine HIV testing for pregnant women, and makes HIV testing a standard component of prenatal care. This bill was signed by the Governor on April 24, 2009.

HB 214 – Rep. Margie McDonald (D-Billings) Expands Medicaid coverage for pregnant women. This bill was signed by the Governor on April 6, 2009.

HB 2 – Rep. Jon Sesso (D-Butte) Family Planning funding for contraceptives and authority for Medicaid to develop a family planning program is currently included in the state’s biennial budget. The budget will be approved by the Governor in the coming weeks.

Anti-Choice Legislation Defeated – an unprecedented number of anti-choice bills:

The majority of the anti-choice legislation that passed through the Senate died in the House Judiciary Committee. Despite right-wing attempts to blast 6 of 7 anti-choice bills out of committee and on to the House floor for a full vote, every anti-choice bill introduced this session was defeated.

SB 46 – Sen. Dan McGee (R-Billings) Weakens the Montana Constitution’s right to privacy to say the state has a compelling interest in protecting the lives of the unborn. This bill died in House Judiciary and a blast motion failed on the House floor.

SB 374 – Sen. Gary Perry (R-Bozeman) Requires a minor accessing abortion care to request judicial bypass if they cannot inform a parent or legal guardian of their decision. This bill is still unconstitutional as it does not differ in substance from the parental notification law that was permanently enjoined by the 1^st District Court in 1999. This bill died in House Judiciary and a blast motion failed on the House floor.

SB 142 – Sen. Gary Perry (R-Bozeman) Would allow insurance companies to discriminate in pricing based gender. This would skyrocket health insurance costs for women, who are more frequent users of health insurance, and would allow insurance companies to require additional riders for maternity coverage. This bill passed the Senate on a 27-23 vote. This bill died in House Business and Labor Committee and a blast motion failed on the House floor.

SB 406 – Sen. Dan McGee (R-Billings) An exact replica of the failed ballot initiative, CI-100, this bill will amend the Montana Constitution to define life beginning at conception and afford all rights guaranteed under the Montana Constitution from the moment of fertilization. This bill died in House Judiciary and a blast motion failed on the House floor.

SB 327 – Sen. Aubyn Curtiss (R-Eureka) This bill amends four criminal statutes related to homicide and assault to include acts against an “unborn child,” creating crimes separate and distinct from acts of violence committed against pregnant women. States that currently have statutes similar to those proposed in SB 327 show the statutes not utilized, difficult to prosecute, and rarely result in a conviction.  In contrast, states whose statutes focus on the violence against the pregnant woman find it easier to prosecute and obtain convictions. This bill died in House Judiciary and a blast motion failed on the House floor.

HB 661 – Rep. Joel Boniek (R-Livingston) This bill singles out abortion clinics and providers for unnecessary, politically motivated, restrictive regulations and licensing. This bill is unnecessary as all medical providers, including abortion providers, already comply with a number of federal and state regulations. In addition to singling out abortion providers for additional and unnecessary regulation burdens, HB 661 would affect 99% of OB/GYN providers in the state. HB 661 could implicate procedures regularly provided by OB/GYNs for miscarriage management and ectopic pregnancies. This bill died in House Judiciary and a blast motion failed on the House floor.

SB 497 – Sen. Jim Shockley (R-Victor) This bill was poorly developed in response to an unsubstantiated claim of obstructing a protester outside Missoula’s Blue Mountain Clinic. In addition to confusing language that could inhibit patient and employee access to clinics, this bill ignored existing statutes that protect protestors from harm and their right of free speech. This bill died in House Judiciary.

Pro-choice measure defeated at the 11^th hour:

HB 676 & HB 2 Amendments – Removed language and appropriation permitting contraceptive coverage for CHIP enrollees from HB 676 and HB 2 respectively. Despite 5 sessions worth of advocacy and bi-partisan support in 2009, the language and funding to provide contraceptive coverage under CHIP were eliminated as part of the budget deal brokered between the House and Senate.