Montana strengthens pro-life pregnancy center protections

Montana’s pro-life Republican governor has signed a bill to protect pro-life pregnancy centers from discrimination by state and local governments.

The CARE Act, signed by Gov. Greg Gianforte on May 1, shields pregnancy resource centers from being subjected to regulations that hurt their mission, including ordinances attempting to force them to promote abortion, or ban them altogether in liberal cities.

Denise Burke, senior counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom, praised the new law.

“Many women seeking abortions say they’d prefer to choose life if they had more support. While pregnancy centers can fulfill that need, they face real and growing threats,” Burke told Life News.

“Thankfully, the CARE Act prohibits state and local officials from discriminating against pregnancy centers simply because they do not provide, counsel in favor of, or refer for abortion. It also ensures that pregnancy centers can continue to provide meaningful, life-affirming care to women, families, and the communities they serve.” 

Republicans in the Montana Legislature championed the proposal to aid the approximately 20 crisis pregnancy centers in the state. Pro-life organizations, including the Montana Family Foundation, also strongly supported it. 

Democrats and the abortion lobby opposed it. 

“Unregulated pregnancy centers could tell a patient anything, whether it’s true or not,” Quinn Leighton of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana told KTVQ. “And they could also treat a patient based on their own opinions rather than the medical options that are available to them.” 

Abortion is legal until around 24 weeks in Montana; its voters approved a ballot question last November codifying abortion as a right in the state constitution. Additionally, a 1999 state Supreme Court ruling declared abortion a right due to the right to privacy clause in the state constitution. 

Other states have also recently taken action to help pregnancy resource centers. 

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders recently approved a 2025-26 spending bill providing $2 million in grants for such centers. Additionally, the Kansas Legislature allocated $3 million to such organizations last month. 

In 2022, America’s 2,750 pro-life pregnancy centers gave out more than $350 million worth of goods and services to expectant mothers, according to the Charlotte Lozier Institute. 

That number is likely even higher now. After the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, states responded – pouring about $500 million into the centers over the next two years, CBS News reported last year. 

Abortion is now banned in 12 states. Another four ban it after six weeks, when the baby’s heartbeat can be detected.