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Montana advocates warn House Bill 365 would criminalize rare late‑term procedure, urge testimony at Helena hearing
Summary
At a Missoula community forum, Montana NARAL warned that House Bill 365 would ban an intact D&E procedure, impose criminal penalties on providers and lacks a health‑of‑the‑mother exception; advocates urged people to testify at a Helena hearing scheduled the next day.
Gail Gucci, board president of Montana NARAL, told a Missoula forum that House Bill 365 would ban an “intact D and E” procedure used in rare, extreme cases and would criminalize providers.
"The problem with this bill is that there's no exception for health of the mother. Only death," Gucci said, urging people to attend the bill's hearing in Helena the following morning.
Why it matters: Gucci said the intact D&E — which she described as a late‑term procedure used in cases involving severe fetal anomalies or risks to a woman's health — is performed only rarely in the United States. She told the meeting the procedure occurs "about 600 times a year" nationwide and argued the Legislature lacks medical expertise to regulate specific procedures. Gucci said HB 365 would impose criminal penalties on providers, including fines she described as "$50,000" and prison terms "up to 10 years," and that the bill contains no broad health‑of‑the‑mother exception.
Gucci urged forum attendees to travel to Helena for the hearing, saying the hearing was scheduled for 8 a.m. and organizers would leave at 5:30 a.m. She offered to help attendees submit written testimony if they could not attend in person.
The forum remarks were advocacy and informational in nature; no legislative action occurred at the meeting. Statements above reflect what Gucci presented to the forum. The transcript indicates supporters plan to testify and submit written comments to the Legislature, but it does not record any formal filing or a vote by a government body.
Background from the speaker: Gucci framed HB 365 as the so‑called "partial birth" bill (she called that label political rhetoric) and said it would ban a procedure she identified as an intact D&E. She characterized the procedure as "rarely, rarely used" and as medically approved and safer in certain tragic cases.
What was not specified at the forum: the bill text, the sponsor, floor or committee actions beyond the hearing Gucci referenced, and any formal legal analysis. Forum remarks reflect Gucci's descriptions and interpretations; the article does not assert legal conclusions not stated in the transcript.
Ending: Gucci asked interested attendees to speak with her after the forum to arrange travel or to provide written testimony, and encouraged people to monitor the Helena hearing the next morning.
