Current and former Montana state legislators joined local activists in introducing a new ballot initiative to allow voters to decide the pro-choice/pro-life issue.

The group said that in addition to today's rally, states across the country are kicking off initiative campaigns on constitutional amendments protecting un-born life.

MT State Representative Wendy Warburton (R-Havre) noted that conservative lawmakers worked hard in the most recent legislative session to pass bills similar to the initiative.

Warburton said, "Pro-life legislators fought long and hard to get several good, common sense, pro-life bills passed to address during the session but all were defeated. But the biggest frustration was coming to realize that after all that work, even if we had been able to pass some good, common sense, pro-life bills...they would have almost certainly been overturned."

The initiative, if approved by the Secretary of State, needs nearly 50,000 signatures to make it on the 2010 ballot.

If it makes it to the ballot, voters will be asked if they are for or against amending the state constitution to define a human being from the beginning of biological development.