An advocacy group in Montana has placed 10 billboards across the state, including near the Idaho border, to inform people that abortions and contraceptives are still legal there.
One poster shows a father and mother, with their two children, wearing cowboy hats and looking toward a mountain range. In it, one message reads “Our freedom is precious,” another “Reproductive freedom belongs to all of us.”
A billboard is located in Stevensville, a small town between Missoula and the Idaho border. Montanans by choice Director Nicole Smith said the goal of the campaign was to let people know that abortions in the region are still available.
“Right now Montana is kind of a hotspot in our region, with Idaho, North Dakota and South Dakota enacting near-total abortion bans,” he said. “That’s why we want our neighbors in neighboring states and people across the country to know that they are welcome here.”
In 2023, the Montana legislature passed nine anti-abortion laws, but lawsuits have prevented them from taking effect. This, Smith said, has left many people confused about whether they can still get abortions in the state. The group’s billboard, digital and print media campaign seeks to combat misinformation, especially in remote areas, she added.
“Our message is simple,” Smith said. “I’m just trying to say, ‘Listen, unfortunately you don’t have any barriers in your way other than geography in Montana.’”
Montanans by choice
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“We really wanted to put billboards in rural Montana communities,” he added. “That was a big priority for us. “We really want people in rural communities to feel part of this movement and see themselves reflected in their communities in our campaign.”
Similar campaigns have sprung up across the country since the repeal of Roe v. Wade in 2022. Abortion rights vary widely from state to state, and many laws enacted since then are under litigation.
In 2023, Planned Parenthood placed billboards in Idaho informing residents that they could travel for abortions. Under Idaho Code, doctors are prohibited from performing abortions except in specific circumstances, but it is not illegal for Idahoans to leave the state to seek care.
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