Maine
Maine’s 125th Legislative Session (Jan 2011 – Dec 2012)
A woman’s access to comprehensive reproductive health care and her right to choose are were under attack this year, but you, our advocates, showed your power and we defeated all five bills by convincing margins!
LD 31, which would have prohibited minors from prescription medication, including for mental health, STIs, and substance abuse prescriptions, in addition to birth control, was defeated in the House without a roll call vote and in the Senate 25 – 6.
LD 116, which would have required a woman to wait 24-hours before an abortion, was defeated in the House 81 – 63, and in the Senate 21 – 13.
LD 924, which would have required physicians to give coercive and subjective advice to women before an abortion was defeated in the House 88 – 57, and in the Senate 21 – 10.
LD 1457, which would have required signed, notarized parental consent before a minor could obtain an abortion, was defeated in the House 80 – 63, and in the Senate 24 – 10.
LD 1463, which would have given rights to fetuses, was defeated in the House 81 – 66 and in the Senate 18 – 15.
The next half of the legislative session begins in January, 2012. The bills which have been accepted do not appear to directly target women’s rights and health, which is great news. However, there is still much to do.
Legislators will be working on setting up the new Health Insurance Exchange, which is the “one stop shopping” place for small businesses and individuals to buy their health insurance beginning in 2014. We have to pay very close attention to assure that women are allowed to choose their health care providers, including Planned Parenthood health centers, and that they are able to purchase policies that allow full health care coverage, including abortion.
Our environmental priorities are still under attack. We won the battle to ban BPA from children’s products, but there are more battles coming, as some legislators continue to label a healthy environment as “bad for business.”
And in states as near as New Hampshire, legislators are trying to deprive women, men, and teens of necessary health care like cancer screening, STI testing and treatment, and birth control by defunding Planned Parenthood. We had one try in Maine this year, but we could easily see more as the Governor tries to cut more and more from the state budget. We also assume the Governor is going to try to pull more people off MaineCare, the health program for low income Mainers. In the name of shrinking the budget, the Governor is willing to throw families into worse situations by denying them life saving, and job saving, health care.
Sound bad? It could be. We are still here for you; we pledge to fight for you; and we want you to join us! We need your voice, your passion, and your story to convince lawmakers of our vital place in the community. Lawmakers need to know Women Are Watching.
Questions? We’ve Got Answers.
To help us defend choice, contact PPNNE’s Maine Grassroots Organizer at grassrootsme@ppnne.org!