June 24 will mark one year since six Supreme Court justices revoked federal protections for abortion, overturning nearly half a century of precedent and sowing chaos, confusion and the seeds of intentional physical, emotional and financial harms for pregnant people and their families, for all Americans.
Make no mistake: The Dobbs decision was a political one, not based in medical science but in a dangerous agenda of attacking our liberties and with the ultimate goal of banning abortion everywhere.
In Maine, we are fortunate to have some state-level protections in place, protections that have ensured that Planned Parenthood of Northern New England and other reproductive health care providers here can continue to offer essential care to our patients. And, in this first full legislative session since Dobbs, we have work to do to protect and expand access to care in our state.
Abortion remains safe and legal in Maine, but not for everyone. Patients like Dana Peirce, from Yarmouth, who need abortion later in pregnancy are forced to leave their trusted medical teams, spend tens of thousands of dollars (if they have the means) and travel out of state to get medical care they need, when they need it. Providers face criminal penalties attached only to abortion care and no other medical procedure, further impeding their ability to offer their patients the best care they are trained to provide. That’s why it is imperative that Maine lawmakers pass L.D. 1619, which would place trust in medical providers and their patients to make complex, deeply personal and private medical decisions without political interference.
Thanks to previous organizing and legislative efforts, abortion is covered by insurance in Maine, but that coverage is in name only, as high deductibles and cost-sharing requirements make the time-sensitive procedure unaffordable and therefore unattainable for so many. That’s why we’re encouraged by L.D. 935, which would remove those cost-sharing barriers to care.
As people who oppose abortion work to further bind the hands of providers and to restrict reproductive liberties across the country, elected leaders who support reproductive freedoms in Maine have put forward proactive legislation to safeguard against such attacks. L.D. 616 would protect abortion providers from being penalized by malpractice insurers, and L.D. 1343 and L.D. 263 would protect access in Maine, no matter where in the state someone lives.
The harrowing accounts of pregnant people across the country in the now 20 states that have enacted bans or near total bans on abortion are heartbreaking and infuriating. Politicians and judges and others opposed to abortion are employing every tactic they can imagine: exploiting gerrymandered legislative district maps to enact cruel policies to control people’s bodies and futures, cherry-picking courts to attack the Food and Drug Administration’s ability to vet and approve medications of all kinds, disregarding pleas from doctors, patients and advocates with lived experiences that prove without any doubt that politicians have no place in private medical decisions, and instead working to criminalize patients and providers.
Yet here in Maine, I remain hopeful and resolved. Mainers are resilient and unwavering in their support for reproductive rights and freedoms. Mainers turned out in record numbers last November to elect reproductive rights champions to lead in Augusta and to meet this current moment with policy that reflects the will of Maine voters and Maine values.
We have said from the beginning that we won’t go back. Politicians who want to force Mainers to remain pregnant against the advice of their doctors will not prevail. Extremists who insist their personal beliefs become public policy will fail because the people of Maine will not stand for it. We will not go back, and we will not settle for what once was. Today, Maine is moving forward.
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