Viewpoint: Politics doesn’t belong in Montana Supreme Court
Judy Pinkki
If you’ve been watching TV lately, opening your mailbox, or scrolling through social media, you’ve noticed a lot of ads for the big race on Montana’s election ballot this fall – the U.S. Senate.
But some of the most important races are down the ballot – specifically in two critical justice races for the Montana Supreme Court, which serves as an impartial check on the extreme political policies advanced by the Legislature and governor.
In short, our personal freedoms and privacy are on the line. You have the opportunity – through your vote this fall – to protect these freedoms.
In Montana, we respect the fundamental right to privacy enshrined in our state Constitution. This constitutional provision has consistently protected our right to access abortion, birth control and In vitro fertilization (IVF). That’s why Montanans are free to make their own personal healthcare decisions without government interference.
But two of the state Supreme Court candidates could upend this protection. These candidates – Cory Swanson and Dan Wilson – have direct ties to the Montana Republican Party. Swanson also has links to extremist groups that want to limit Montanans’ access to abortion, contraception and IVF.
If elected, Swanson and Wilson could reinterpret our constitutional right to privacy and strip Montanans’ access to abortion.
For instance, Swanson is backed by donors, like the president of the Montana Family Foundation, who want to take away access to contraception and ban abortion. Swanson also refuses to say whether he would uphold Montanans’ right to privacy and the state Supreme Court’s 1999 decision that guarantees the right to choose an abortion.
Swanson also has received a donation from Terry Moore, who until 2022 served as president of the Alliance Defending Freedom. ADF was founded as “a legal-defense fund for conservative Christian causes” and which opposes abortion.
Wilson, meanwhile, has received donations from prominent members of the Montana Republican Party, such as GOP Gov. Greg Gianforte, state Republican Party Chair Don Kaltschmidt and Republican legislators. Wilson was introduced at a campaign event by GOP Lt. Gov. Kristen Juras. Prominent Republicans like Gianforte and Juras have worked hard to restrict Montanans’ access to abortion.
Wilson also has refused to answer if he would uphold Montanans’ constitutional right to privacy and access to abortion.
Two candidates for the Supreme Court deserve your vote because they will protect our personal freedoms and constitutional right to privacy. Jerry Lynch, a former federal magistrate from Butte, and Katherine Bidegaray, a state district judge from Sidney, know that abortion is a personal and private issue best left to a woman and her doctor.
We can count on Lynch and Bidegaray to defend women’s right to privacy in making their own personal healthcare decisions when politicians try to prevent them from accessing abortion and birth control.
The Montana Supreme Court is the last line of defense in protecting Montanans’ right to privacy and freedom to choose an abortion, use contraception, and seek IVF treatment.
Keep politics out of the high court and protect privacy and freedom when you vote this fall. Cast your vote for Lynch and Bidegaray.
Judy Prinkki is retired and lives near Roberts