(LifeSiteNews) – A ballot measure to ensure basic medical care for newborns who survive failed abortions is on the track to be rejected by Montana voters. As of Wednesday morning, 52.6% of counted votes were against enacting the bill to protect newborn babies and 47.4% voted to pass the referendum. Roughly 80% of total votes have come in so far.
The vote has not yet been officially called for either “yes” or “no” on the ballot measure.
The measure, Referendum 131 (also known as House Bill 0167), stated, “An infant born alive is a legal person for all purposes under the laws of the state and is entitled to the protections of the laws, including the right to appropriate and reasonable medical care and treatment.”
“In the absence of proper legal protections, newly born infants who have survived abortions have been denied appropriate lifesaving or life-sustaining medical care and treatment and have been left to die,” the measure noted.
Medical professionals who “purposely, knowingly, or negligently violate” the law would face felony charges, be fined up to $50,000, and possibly spend up to 20 years in state prison. Anyone affiliated with a medical center who is aware of a “failure to comply” with the law would be required to report the incident to law enforcement immediately.
Ensuring newborns who survive failed abortions are not left to die is generally regarded as a moderate proposal, but is routinely opposed by the abortion lobby and the left. Pro-lifers are facing defeat on all statewide abortion-related ballot measures this election, which in addition to Montana were voted on in Vermont, California, Kentucky, and Michigan.
READ: Left-wing states vote for ‘right’ to abortion in midterm defeat for pro-lifers
Meanwhile, Montana voters showed tremendous support for a different ballot measure regarding privacy of personal data. Eighty-two percent of Montanans voted to amend the state’s constitution to “include electronic data and communications in search and seizure protections.”
Republican Ryan Zinke is currently ahead of Democrat Monica Tranel in the race for Montana’s new seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. With 80% of votes in, Zinke leads the close race at 49.9% compared to Tranel who has 46.3% of the votes. Zinke, who was nominated by then-president Trump to be Secretary of the Interior in 2016, has a history of supporting pro-life legislation and is in favor of defunding Planned Parenthood. Rep. Matt Rosendale, a Republican, won re-election for Montana’s other House seat.
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