Montana’s ‘hesitant’ abortionist set to close her doors

According to Bozeman Daily Chronicle, anyone who searches “abortion providers in Montana” won’t find Dr. Claire Putnam in Bozeman, though she has been quietly committing abortions there since she first opened SHE Health and Wellness in 2018. Now, she has announced she will be closing her facility.

Putman calls herself a pro-life abortionist, according to the Chronicle, and expresses fear about treating women who have carried out at-home abortions, which are becoming the norm for legal abortion through the abortion pill. “I’m a hesitant abortion provider in Montana,” she said. “I would love to not do any elective abortions. Often I have talked people out of abortions.”

Though Putman doesn’t list abortion under the services offered on the SHE Health and Wellness website, she has been committing them. She said she is closing in part due to financial pressures, and in part due to fears about committing abortions in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in June.

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Yet, abortion in Montana is not restricted and courts claim it is protected under the state’s constitutional right to privacy. Abortion is carried out in Montana by abortionist LeRoy Carhart’s facility, CARE, even beyond 27 weeks — a three day procedure according to CARE. Due to a pending lawsuit by Planned Parenthood, Montana is currently prohibited from enforcing laws that restrict abortion after 20 weeks, that prevent the use of telehealth to distribute the abortion pill, and that would allow women to hear their baby’s heartbeat or view the ultrasound prior to an abortion.

Despite the expansive pro-abortion laws in Montana, Putman claims that abortion “access is very limited” in the state. And though the overturning of Roe v. Wade has not affected Putman’s ability to commit abortions at any time in pregnancy in Montana, she said that since Roe fell, “I’m also afraid. That’s part of why I’m closing. Doctors are threatened for what they do. It’s kind of a threatening time.”

She is also worried that she will be treating women who have attempted at-home abortions if Montana does enact any abortion restrictions, stating that it is tough to have a woman die in your arms. Yet, it is states like Montana that allow for dangerous at-home abortions by the abortion pill that are setting women up for incomplete abortions, infections, and death.

Putman has yet to announce her official closing date.

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