The bill, known as LD 227, would make Maine a sanctuary state for abortion and for gender manipulation, meaning those related services would not just be available for Maine residents, but also people from other states.
It would establish "a legal right" to abortion and surgical mutilation and would block clinicians who carry out the procedures from facing legal penalties. The bill would also prohibit "interference" with abortion or sex change procedures, legally protect medical workers from facing lawsuits, and could potentially permit concealment of medical records from plaintiffs seeking legal action against a provider.
"We see the rest of the world abandoning these transgender altering procedures, the medical procedures and the chemical procedures," notes Carroll Conley of the Christian Civic League of Maine. "We see France and England and Finland running away from these because they've already gone down this path and see that it doesn't work."
In the U.S., at least 23 states currently restrict or ban so-called "gender-affirming care" for minors, and 16 attorneys general are warning Maine that measures like LD 227 harm children and disregard parental rights.
"When it comes to us protecting our children, we have a right to do this," Conley says is the gist. "Maine's legislature is really disenfranchising not just its own citizens, and parents in particular, but other states that are pro-life or consider these altering gender procedures as child abuse."
The measure is currently being considered in health committee hearings. It has the support of Planned Parenthood, who argues that it will provide much needed protection for medical providers in the state.
Those opposing the bill, including all Republican members of the state legislature, caution that it might inadvertently allow for the so-called "kidnapping" of adolescents in states that have tougher restrictions to undergo these procedures.
Conley says they only need "no" votes from 7-8 Democrats to defeat the measure, and to accomplish that, he encourages Maine residents to start making calls and sending emails to their elected representatives about it.
Politics in disguise
As for abortion, a state on the West Coast is celebrating it while putting down pro-life help centers.
The Oregon Health Authority's Reproductive Health Program has launched a new abortion access webpage that does not quite tell the truth.
"What stands out to me is that there are descriptions of general types of abortions that use very vague language," accounts Lois Anderson of Oregon Right to Life. "It's not medical information about what a woman experiences, especially when it comes to the abortion pills."
For example, surgical abortion is called a "procedural abortion" to hide the fact that it is surgical.
"The other issue that really stands out is this idea that pregnancy resource clinics are fake clinics," the pro-lifer continues. "This is really an outrageous smear against these incredible organizations."
Anderson describes the website's vague language as a political statement thinly disguised as healthcare information. It hides the truth about abortion, directs vulnerable women from Oregon and elsewhere to the abortion clinics in the state, and does nothing to provide helpful information about pregnancy.
