Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte poses a question while taking part in a panel discussion during a Republican Governors Association conference, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

According to tax returns for Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte’s (R) charitable trust, the former software developer has been donating millions in personal funds to anti-choice pregnancy centers and organizations that oppose reproductive rights.

Data tracked by ProPublica points to at least $4,146,364 donated to anti-abortion institutes from 2018-22, while Gianforte was serving as a U.S. representative and as the governor of Montana.

2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Alliance Defending Freedom $50,000 $50,000 $50,000 $50,000 $50,000
Charlotte Lozier Institute $50,000 $250,000

 

 $70,000 X X
Echoz Pregnancy Center $10,000 $15,000 $15,000 $25,000 $25,000
Family Life Ministries X $50,000 X $50,000 X
Family Research Council $25,0000 $25,000 $50,000 $50,000 $50,000
Focus on the Family $50,000 $75,000 $50,000 $50,000 $50,000
Hope Pregnancy Ministries $97,500 X $20,000 $25,000 $209,400
Inspire Pregnancy Outreach Center $10,000 $5,000 $5,000 $6,500 $8,000
Billings Crisis Pregnancy Center $10,000 $15,000 $15,000 $525,0000 $42,500
Montana Family Foundation $213,260 $210,000 $442,000 $205,500 $220,000
New Hope Clinic $10,000 $7,500 $7,500 $13,000 $13,000
New Hope Pregnancy Support $10,000 $10,000 X $15,500 $6,500
Option Women’s Clinic $17,500 $10,000 $15,000 $25,000 $30,000
Outreach Clinic of Miles City $10,000 $23,200 $28,000 $24,980 $33,650
St. Catherine Clinic and Pregnancy Center $62,250 $35,159 $29,965 $36,000 X
Zoe Pregnancy Center/Zoecare $13,500 $17,500 $25,000 $38,500 $8,500
Total $639,010 $798,359 $822,465 $1,139,980 $746,550

(Source: Form 990 tax filings with the IRS, ProPublica)

The trust, Gianforte Family Charitable Trust, is a private 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization mainly used to make charitable disbursements. In 2022, the most recent filing year made public, 92.5% of the trust’s expenses ($11,318,318 out of $12,238,712 total) were charitable disbursements.

Prior to his political career, Gianforte and his wife Susan co-founded RightNow Technologies, a software company that was sold to Oracle Company in 2011 for $1.5 billion.

Gianforte has served as Montana’s governor since January 2021, assuming office after serving two terms as Montana’s at-large representative. As governor, Gianforte signed three bills that would have restricted abortion access, including a ban after 20 weeks.

“It’s a promising day, a day that will go down in our state’s history as we defend life,” Gianforte said after signing the bills three months after taking office.

The abortion ban was blocked by an injunction in October 2021 and eventually struck down and ruled unconstitutional by a Montana judge in February.

In November, Montana voters will decide on CI-128, a “Right to Abortion” ballot initiative which will implement a constitutional right to “make and carry out decisions about one’s own pregnancy, including the right to abortion.”

The Montana Family Foundation, which Gianforte donated $1.29 million to over a five-year period, has a section on its website dedicated to opposing CI-128. Part of Montana Family Foundation’s statement of principles includes, “Human life is sacred from conception to natural death and must be protected by the government.”

Another institution called Focus on the Family, which has $50,000 donations from Gianforte on an annual basis since 2018, contains highly misleading information on its website. One section provides no data for a claim that up to 90% of children diagnosed with Down Syndrome are aborted. Another section promotes the controversial and experimental practice of abortion reversal, which has been discredited by medical experts like the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists for its lack of evidence-based research.

Gianforte is running for reelection in November against Democratic challenger and former firearms executive Ryan Busse. The candidates will participate in a debate on Oct. 16 that will be hosted by ABC-Fox affiliate NonStop Local.

Montana voters will also decide whether to reelect Sen. Jon Tester (D) or replace him with Republican challenger Tim Sheehy. Sheehy is on record saying that he wants all abortion to “end tomorrow” and that the procedure is sinful.