HELENA — Montanans’ TVs have been flooded with political ads for months – and it’s no surprise, as the state’s U.S. Senate race has been one of the most expensive in the country, with millions of dollars spent on campaign ads.
MTN is taking a closer look at some of the claims you may have seen in these ads, in a series called “Truth Be Told.”
This is the first major election since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, and abortion rights have been a major campaign issue for Democratic candidates across the country this year. That’s true for U.S. Sen. Jon Tester as well.
One recent ad from the committee Republicans for Tester claims Republican challenger Tim Sheehy would open the door to an abortion ban in this state. The ad features a woman named Kayleigh Schaaf, who says, “The last thing Montana women need is having the government tell us what we can do with our own bodies. Tim Sheehy wants to let politicians ban abortions even here in Montana.”
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Sheehy’s campaign described his position on abortion in a statement to MTN.
“As the father to four young children, Tim is proudly pro-life,” a spokesperson said. “Tim supports compassionate, commonsense protections for when a baby can feel pain, as well as exceptions for rape, incest, and life of the mother.”
In May, Sheehy said in response to a questionnaire from Montana Public Radio that “I believe any further limits must be left to each state.”
Tester’s campaign says that leaves open the possibility that states could introduce broader abortion bans. They noted that Republicans in the Montana Legislature have already passed a number of laws tightening abortion rules, including a ban on most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy and a prohibition on a specific abortion procedure commonly used after 15 weeks. Many of those changes have been held up in court, with judges citing the Montana Supreme Court’s 1999 Armstrong decision, which said the state constitution’s right to privacy protected the right to an abortion prior to fetal viability.
“Certainly abortion is a major issue for Democrats for going on the offense,” said Louis Jacobson, a chief correspondent for PolitiFact. MTN is partnering with the nonpartisan website, which is fact-checking ads like these.
Jacobson previously researched a more specific claim in an online ad from Tester’s campaign, stating that Sheehy “would let politicians like him ban abortion, with no exceptions for rape or to save a woman’s life, and criminalize women.” PolitiFact declared that claim “mostly false,” based on Sheehy’s support of exceptions, though Jacobson said there was an element of truth.
“It would be kind of within a state's right to put in place a ban on abortion with zero exceptions,” he said. “He personally says he doesn't want to see that happen, but by saying that states should decide, he is creating a pathway for the state to do that regardless of what his own personal preference is.”
A Daily Montanan article from August quotes Sheehy criticizing CI-128, a ballot measure going before Montana voters this year that would specifically add the right to an abortion to the state constitution. Despite that, Sheehy said during a debate with Tester Monday night that, if voters approve CI-128, he’ll respect that.
“I'm a law-and-order candidate who believes in our Constitution, both of our state and our federal government, and if the people of Montana vote for it and it passes, then it's the law of the land,” he said.
Sheehy’s view on abortion certainly contrasts with Tester, who called for reinstating Roe v. Wade at the national level during the debate.
On Thursday, our next Truth Be Told segment will focus on an ad from the Sheehy campaign. All these Truth Be Told stories will be available on MTN websites.
