April 3, 2024
Kaitlyn Ruch, Students for Life Action Student Spokesperson
GUEST POST: The Montana primary election kicks off in just a few months and things are already heating up in the race for Governor and the race for the U.S. Senate. To set the stage on just how crucial these two races will be for the future of the pro-life movement in Montana, let me introduce you to some of the candidates.
For Governor, Pro-Life Governor Greg Gianforte is running for re-election, with a strong track record of pro-life victories. During the 2023 Legislative Session, Governor Gianforte signed into law f, building on the enormous pro-life successes of the 2021 Legislative Session.
One of the most crucial bills being State Senator Keith Regier’s SB 154, which correctly defined the “Right to Privacy” listed in the State Constitution to not include the right to abortion. Gianforte has tirelessly championed the protection of life in law and hasn’t shied away when giving campaign speeches or statements to the press.
Running against Governor Gianforte is Ryan Busse, a former firearms executive turned pro-abortion aficionado, who is making abortion a staple of his campaign. Perhaps most nauseatingly, after filing with the Montana Secretary of State, Busse posted on X, formerly Twitter, on February 21st: “Hey all you weirdo trolls who attack those standing up for women’s healthcare, privacy, abortion rights… We see you yearning to control what women do, dreaming of forcing young rape victims to succumb to your orders, driving doctors out so you can take over. We all see you.”
This may surprise Busse, but we actually don’t care about controlling what women do, except for when it ends innocent human lives. In another post, February 25th: “Greg Gianforte tells women to trust HIM on the science of conception…” But it’s not just Gianforte who understands when life begins, over 96% of biologists agree that life does in fact begin at the moment of fertilization, so we don’t need to trust anything or anyone but the science, (and common sense), to understand when life begins.
Another candidate who joins Busse with his pro-abortion extremism, although slightly more concealed, is Senator Jon Tester, running for re-election (for the fourth time) to the U.S. Senate. Jon likes to act like a moderate, especially during election years, running ads with him driving a pickup truck or “working” on his so called “farm.” However, these illustrations couldn’t be further from the truth. Jon votes with President Joe Biden over 91% of the time, including voting AGAINST pro-life protections, including rejecting protections for babies who survive attempted abortions, and supporting forcing taxpayers to fund abortion through all nine months. That reality isn’t quite as folksy as “farmer Jon.”
Working to defeat career politician and abortion extremist Jon Tester is Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy. Tim is “proudly pro-life,” and he and his wife, Carmen helped bring an upgraded neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to their local hospital in Bozeman, Montana. “I believe the most precious gift from God is life and that we have a responsibility to protect and defend the most vulnerable in our society…” Sheehy states on his campaign website.
We can talk about these politicians and their extreme stances all day long, but what does the Pro- Life Generation think? A recent YouGov poll conducted by the Demetree Institute for Pro Life Advancement has found that less than 1 in 10 members of Generation Z and Millennials find themselves supporting the Democratic Party’s radical abortion agenda, such as the “Women’s Health Protection Act,” which Jon Tester stands in full support of.
One thing is clear, neither Jon nor Ryan understands that Montanans don’t want abortion on demand through all nine months. Montana voters have a choice to make this November, elect politicians that protect our most vulnerable, or those that advocate the opposite. For the ProLife Generation, the choice is clear. We’ll be voting Pro Life First and encouraging Montana voters to turn out and do the same.