Last night at the gubernatorial debate hosted by WGME and the Bangor Daily News, Paul LePage once again lied about his record on abortion and demonstrated that he does not understand the issue one bit. Here’s a breakdown of the full exchange:
LePage began by lying about his record, saying that when he was governor “never once did the abortion question come up, or my intent of ever dealing with abortion”
This is a blatant lie. Throughout his eight years in office, LePage repeatedly and publicly opposed abortion rights in Maine, frequently attending anti-abortion rallies, supporting the overturning of Roe v. Wade and going as far as to say that “we should not have abortion.”
Then, after declaring that he does not support “taxpayer-funded abortion,” he tried to backtrack by saying he’s “fine” with Medicaid funding for abortion care
This shows LePage does not understand the issue at all. When LePage’s anti-abortion allies in the Maine GOP and at the Christian Civic League of Maine talk about their objection to taxpayer-funded abortion, they are referring to their opposition to a law signed by Governor Mills in 2019 requiring that all insurers, including Medicaid, cover abortion services. LePage appeared confused about this during the debate, saying that what he means by “taxpayer-funded abortion” is a law where "abortion for everyone paid for by the state.” Such a law has never been proposed.
Finally, LePage claimed that Brett Kavanaugh “didn’t vote to overturn Roe v. Wade, he voted…to send it back to where it belongs, to the states”
This is another complete misunderstanding of the issue. Roe v. Wade prevented states from passing laws that unduly restricted abortion rights. In Dobbs, Kavanaugh voted to overturn that precedent.
“Paul LePage is either lying or has no idea what he’s talking about. Regardless, one thing is clear—he can’t be trusted to defend our abortion rights,” said Bev Uhlenhake, Vice Chair of the Maine Democratic Party. “With Republicans around the country mobilizing to take away our reproductive freedoms, Maine needs a governor whose record defending abortion rights is clear. That’s Janet Mills.