After today’s Supreme Court decision overturning the constitutional right to an abortion guaranteed by Roe v. Wade, “trigger laws” in thirteen states have now gone into effect, ripping away the right to an abortion from millions of women, with many more states likely to follow. In Maine, reproductive freedoms have been staunchly defended by Governor Mills, but the state’s long-lasting abortion protections are at risk if Paul LePage and the Maine GOP take over in November.
When Paul LePage was governor, he repeatedly attacked Mainers’ abortion rights. Since announcing his 2022 campaign, with the prospect of the Supreme Court overturning Roe looming, he has signaled his openness to signing abortion restrictions into law. Even in an interview last week, LePage indicated that if an abortion ban hit his desk, he would sign.
And there is no need to guess what that ban would look like. LePage’s own Maine GOP now defines life as beginning at conception, a definition that would ban all abortions and even threaten access to contraceptives. The Christian Civic League, who calls LePage an ally and has endorsed his campaign, wants to end all abortion in Maine. And even the chair of the Republican Governors Association, Gov. Pete Ricketts, wants to ban abortion with no exceptions for rape or incest.
With LePage and the Maine GOP on the ballot this November, reproductive freedoms in Maine are in danger like never before.
Maine Democratic Party Chair Drew Gattine released a statement about today’s disastrous ruling:
“Now that the Supreme Court has officially overturned Roe v. Wade and millions of women across the country are about to lose their freedom to have an abortion, one thing is clear: the future of abortion in Maine is on the ballot this November. We are fortunate in Maine to currently have a Governor in Janet Mills who is a passionate defender of abortion rights and a Democratically controlled legislature that will steadfastly protect those rights. However, with Roe gone—in part because of Susan Collins’ votes for Brett Kavanaugh and other virulently anti-choice justices—Governor Mills and her Democratic colleagues in the legislature are the only thing keeping abortion safe and legal in our state. Paul LePage and other anti-abortion Republicans on the ballot this November present the greatest threat to abortion rights in recent Maine history. We must re-elect Governor Mills and our Democratic majorities this November in order to protect the rights, safety, and future of not just Maine women but all Maine people.”