It’s been three days since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and Paul LePage’s silence on the matter is deafening. LePage has refused to comment on the earth-shattering decision despite its direct repercussions on the future of reproductive freedom in Maine.
The SCOTUS decision opens a door for Paul LePage and his anti-abortion allies to finally realize their long term goal of banning abortion in Maine if they win back power this November. The Maine GOP made their extreme views clear this year when they included a plank in their party platform declaring human life starts at conception. LePage himself has said he would consider signing any legislation that reflect this ideology if it crossed his desk—restrictions that could include out-right bans on all abortion and even limitations on contraceptives or IVF.
So why the silence now? Because LePage and the Maine GOP know how out-of-touch and extreme their anti-abortion agenda is. Their agenda is so radical, the Maine GOP is instructing its down ballot candidates to avoid talking about the issue at all.
“Paul LePage and the Maine GOP want to restrict Mainers’ abortion rights—no matter how much their extreme views fly in the face of Maine’s values,” said Drew Gattine, Chair of the Maine Democratic Party. “While they might try to avoid confirming their plans, their silence on the issue does not change their commitment to anti-abortion policies. LePage has a long record of forcing his extreme views on the people of Maine, and if he’s re-elected this November now that Roe has been overturned, there will be nothing stopping him from ripping away our state’s long-protected reproductive freedoms.”
Mainers overwhelmingly support protecting abortion rights in the state. Yet the direction of popular opinion did nothing to dissuade LePage from pursuing an anti-abortion agenda during his eight years in office. While LePage and the Maine GOP have remained mostly silent on the issue since the decision came out, supporters such as the Christian Civic League—which sees LePage as an “ally” and wants to end all abortion in Maine—have started talking about the opportunity to “clean” the state of abortion protections.
On the day of the decision, Governor Mills quickly made clear that as long as she is governor, she will veto any attempts to restrict reproductive freedom in this state. She has gained a national reputation for her efforts to protect access to abortion and other essential care.