In a race that could decide control of the U.S. Senate, Montana’s Democratic Sen. Jon Tester is attacking his challenger, Republican Tim Sheehy, for his stance on abortion.
Montana’s Senate race is one of a half-dozen tight contests around the country in which Democrats are defending seats needed to keep their one-seat majority. If Republicans flip Tester’s seat, they could take over the chamber even if they fail to oust Democrats in any other key races.
In a series of Facebook ads launched in early September, Tester’s campaign said Sheehy supports banning abortion with no exceptions.
An ad launched on Sept. 6 said, “Tim Sheehy wants to take away the freedom to choose what happens with your own body, and give that power to politicians. Sheehy would let politicians like him ban abortion, with no exceptions for rape or to save a woman’s life, and criminalize women. We can’t let Tim Sheehy take our freedom away.”
RELATED
Tester and Sheehy have first debate
In the first debate of Montana’s high-profile U.S. Senate race, Republican challenger Tim Sheehy Sunday repeatedly portrayed America as a country ravaged by problems enabled by Democrats and said he’s part of “new leadership” that can fix things.
His opponent, three-term Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, said he’s the real Montanan who understands rural America and has used his influence to help the state, and that it’s wealthy outsiders like Sheehy who are making Montana unaffordable and less livable for the average person.
SHEEHY’S ANTI-ABORTION STANCE ALLOWS FOR RAPE, HEALTH EXCEPTIONS
Sheehy’s website calls him “proudly pro-life,” and he’s campaigning against abortion. He opposes a measure on Montana’s November ballot that would amend the Montana Constitution to provide the right to “make and carry out decisions about one’s own pregnancy, including the right to abortion.”
In July, we rated False Sheehy’s statement that Tester and other Democrats have voted for “elective abortions up to and including the moment of birth. Healthy, 9-month-year-old baby killed at the moment of birth.”
Tim Sheehy “would let politicians like him ban abortion, with no exceptions for rape or to save a woman’s life, and criminalize women.”
A Facebook ad from the campaign of Sen. Jon Tester, launched on Sept. 6, 2024
But contrary to the new ad’s message, Sheehy has voiced support for exceptions.
In a Montana Public Radio interview in May, Sheehy was asked, “Yes or no, do you support a federal ban on abortion?”
Sheehy said, “I am proudly pro-life and support common sense protections for when a baby can feel pain, as well as exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother, and I believe any further limits must be left to each state.”
And in a June debate with Tester, Sheehy said, “I’ll always protect the three rights for women: rape, incest, life of the mother.”
The issues section of Sheehy’s campaign website does not say that he has a no-exceptions stance, nor does it say he would “criminalize women” who have abortions.
In a statement, the Sheehy campaign told PolitiFact that the ad mischaracterizes Sheehy’s abortion position. Allowing no exceptions “has never been Tim’s position,” the campaign said.
RELATED
Fact-check: Sheehy revives discredited abortion claims
In a televised debate June 8, Republican Senate candidate Tim Sheehy accused incumbent Sen. Jon Tester and Democrats of voting for “elective abortions up to and including the moment of birth.” Here’s why KFF and Politifact rate that statement false.
Abortion initiative to appear on November ballot
Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen has certified that Constitutional Initiative 128, the proposal to create a specific protection for abortion rights in the Montana Constitution, has received the required number of signatures and can appear on the November ballot. The announcement, two days before a March 22 deadline to certify ballot issues, launches the multi-month fight over whether to solidify abortion access in Montana into a new phase.
OUR RULING
The Tester campaign’s ad says Sheehy “would let politicians like him ban abortion, with no exceptions for rape or to save a woman’s life, and criminalize women.”
Sheehy has said he supports abortion ban exceptions for rape or to save a pregnant woman’s life. We found no instances of him saying he would be OK with states criminalizing women who receive abortions in violation of state laws.
What gives the ad a kernel of truth is that Sheehy has voiced support for letting states decide abortion parameters within their borders. The Tester campaign argues that this means Sheehy would effectively enable legislators to pass abortion restrictions that don’t include exceptions or that criminalize women.
The Tester campaign’s argument relies on hypotheticals and ignores Sheehy’s stated support for exceptions, giving a misleading impression of Sheehy’s position.
We rate it Mostly False.
OUR SOURCES
- Jon Tester, Facebook ad, Sept. 6, 2024
- Tim Sheehy, campaign issues page, accessed Sept. 12, 2024
- KFF, “Policy Tracker: Exceptions to State Abortion Bans and Early Gestational Limits,” last updated July 29, 2024
- Montana Public Radio, “Q&A: Tim Sheehy, Republican Candidate for U.S. Senate,” May 15, 2024
- Montana Senate debate (excerpt), June 9, 2024
- Last Best Place PAC, “choice” web page, accessed Sept. 12, 2024
- Montana Republican Party, 2024 platform, accessed Sept. 12. 2024
- Daily Montanan, “Sheehy criticizes ballot measures, including initiative to protect abortion,” Aug. 22, 2024
- Sabato’s Crystal Ball, “Where Abortion Rights Will (or Could) Be on the Ballot,” July 9, 2024
- Heartland Signal, “Unearthed audio shows Tim Sheehy calling abortion ‘sinful,’ wanting it to ‘end tomorrow,’” Aug. 30, 2024
- Montana Independent, “Jon Tester accuses Tim Sheehy of lying about abortion during first Senate campaign debate,” June 11, 2024
- Statement to PolitiFact from the Sheehy campaign
- Statement to PolitiFact from the Tester campaign
LATEST STORIES
How Montana’s ‘Right to Compute Act’ stymies data center regulation
While the goals of public pushback against data center development are clear, a 2025 state law — the RIght to Compute Act — has effectively tied the hands of county commissioners who constituents are pushing for regulation. “We are between a rock and a hard spot right now,” Yellowstone County Commission Chair Mark Morse said…
Dozens of warrantless arrests deemed wrongful in class-action immigration case
Upper Seven Law announced that 24 “unlawfully detained individuals” had been released from the Cascade County Detention Center. More are expected to be released as the court considers further petitions, according to Andres Haladay, an attorney with Upper Seven.
‘Where they belong’: Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes bring home the remains of three members
In early September, a van leading a caravan home stopped on Big Muddy Creek Bridge, marking the boundary of the Fort Peck reservation. Families embraced, tears were shed, and the smell of burning sage lingered. In the back were three wooden caskets draped in the flags of the Assiniboine and Sioux. Over the following days,…