On behalf of the Maine Unitarian Universalist State Advocacy Network, which links more than 2,300 members in 26 churches across Maine in faith-based advocacy, I am writing in support of L.D. 1619, An Act to Improve Maine’s Reproductive Privacy Laws.
Our Unitarian Universalist faith affirms that all of our bodies are sacred and that we are each endowed with the twin gifts of agency and conscience. Each of us should have the power to decide what does and doesn’t happen to our bodies at every moment of our lives because consent and bodily autonomy are holy. And when disparities in resources or freedoms make it more difficult for certain groups of people to exercise autonomy over their own bodies, our faith compels us to speak out.
L.D. 1619 will improve Maine’s reproductive privacy laws by:
• Putting the decisions on abortions later in pregnancy in the hands of patients and providers.
• Removing criminal penalties for medical providers who offer abortion care later in pregnancy.
• Supporting people who help someone acquire the pills for a medication abortion in Maine.
• Removing antiquated and invasive data collection requirements for abortion patients and providers.
Our faith impels us to advocate for the freedom to choose abortion, as well as comprehensive and affirming reproductive health care throughout the lifespan.
Julia Fitz-Randolph
New Harbor
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