Women Legislators Call on Maine Legislature to Reject Anti-Choice Bills

Augusta – As legislators around the nation consider legislation to undermine a woman’s right to have an abortion, many in Maine are pushing back against attempts to take this important right away from Maine women. Today, a coalition of women legislators called on the Maine Legislature to reject three anti-choice bills being proposed this session. Two of the bills are repeats of similar bills soundly rejected in 2011.

LD 760 would force doctors to tell women unnecessary, coercive information before they could obtain an abortion. LD 1339 would repeal Maine’s successful adult involvement law and replace it with a law requiring physicians to obtain signed consent from a minor’s parent before she can obtain an abortion. LD 1193 seeks to convey legal status to a fetus, including granting the fetus legal rights to “heirs and an estate.”

“We will not let Maine join so many other states where those opposed to reproductive rights are chipping away at women’s fundamental right to privacy in health care decisions,” said Sen. Linda Valentino, chair of the Judiciary Committee. “We are here on behalf of our daughters, our sisters, our mothers, and the many women we represent, to say we will not allow reproductive freedom to be threatened in Maine.”

“All healthcare decisions should be between a woman and her doctor – not between a woman, her doctor, and legislators in Augusta,” said Sen. Emily Cain. "Women can be trusted to make the decisions that are best for them, and their families. These bills send the wrong message to women across Maine. ”

“The legislature should be focused on finding bipartisan solutions to the struggling economy and an enormous budget shortfall, not fending off attacks on reproductive privacy,” said Rep. Megan Rochelo. “But we are ready to defend those rights. The women here, and the women of Maine, will not allow these attacks to succeed.”

“These are issues that affect all of us, and we all know and love women who have made the decision to have an abortion. We need to uphold policies that respect them,” said Rep. Jennifer DeChant. “I look forward to working with these women and other legislators to defeat these threats to women’s health and continue Maine’s long tradition of respecting women’s rights to make decisions about their health.”

The legislators were joined by the Maine Choice Coalition, a group of organizations committed to protecting a woman’s right to choose whether to have an abortion.