Back in January Maine democrat legislators held a public hearing for LD 1735, which was essentially a “transgender trafficking” bill that would have allowed minor children to come to Maine for so-called “gender affirming care” or abortions without parental consent. This bill received national attention and overwhelming opposition from parents and citizens around the country. The bill died in committee shortly thereafter.
In typical democrat fashion, they snuck a nearly identical bill, LD 227, into a different committee for a public hearing with about a day’s notice, giving the republicans on the committee and the citizens almost no notice to be able to raise awareness about the bill.
LD 227 is scheduled for a work session in the Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services committee on Thursday, March 21 at 1PM EDT.
LD 227 is also known as the “shield law”, which has been enacted into several other states including California and Washington. The shield law literally shields providers and anyone helping a minor child access abortion or “gender affirming care” from any kind of legal action, circumventing and disregarding the laws of the child’s home state (think Idaho child goes with adult who is not their parent to Washington for puberty blocking hormones – there is no legal recourse).
A letter to the Maine legislature from 15 Attorneys General stated, “Maine has every right to decide what Maine’s laws are and how those laws should be enforced. But that same right applies to every State. One State cannot control another. The totalitarian impulse to stifle dissent and oppress dissenters has no place in our shared America.”
These shield laws set a very dangerous precedent in our country.
“From a practical perspective, LD 227’s ill-considered attempt to influence and intimidate officials in other States could also trigger a rapid tit-for-tat escalation that tears apart our Republic. One could easily envision a First Amendment Protection Act that creates state law liability for people, even people out of state, who seek to suppress purported hate speech, or a Second Amendment Protection Act that creates liability for those who seek to regulate firearms, or laws that impose harsh penalties on people who express support for one side or another in the war between Israel and Hamas. If one State does not like another State’s regulatory regime with respect to cars, or food, or alcohol distribution, or whatever else, it could create a tenuous jurisdictional hook to allow the same sort of extraterritorial bullying attempted by LD 227. State officials would be dragged into legal battles in far-flung jurisdictions, thwarting their ability to focus on protecting their own citizens consistent with their own duly-enacted laws.”
Maine Attorney General, Aaron Frey responded to the letter referencing Texas AG Ken Paxton’s recent request for records from Seattle Children’s Hospital in Washington state and another hospital in Georgia where minors from Texas received “gender affirming care.”
Planned Parenthood also weighed in on LD 227 saying: “Full spectrum reproductive health care and gender-affirming health care are essential, lifesaving services that are safe and legal in Maine. With LD 227, our elected leaders have an opportunity to stand up for safe, legal medical care by protecting providers who offer that care and the patients who seek it.
This is an assault on human life. This is an attempt to destroy our children mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. It’s an attempt to destroy the nuclear family which is imperative to a healthy, functioning society. This legislation in Maine will have an impact on children and families across our country. That means it’s up to each one of us to take action and speak up! We must not be silent – our children are depending on us.
TAKE ACTION!
Please send an email to the committee asking them NOT to pass LD 227 BY March 20th 10PM.
Sample email:
LD 227 is a very dangerous bill and will get the state of Maine into legal battles with other states and entities costing the taxpayers of Maine and other states millions of dollars. This bill will put vulnerable children at risk for irreversible procedures, will put them in extreme danger by removing the protection of their parents and guardians, by allowing for them to be trafficked into Maine. This puts the protection of providers above the protection of the patient. Our laws must provide strong protections for patients. Please protect children across the country and DO NOT PASS LD 227 out of committee.
Copy/Paste Email Addresses:
Donna.Bailey@Legislature.Maine.gov
Eric.Brakey@legislature.maine.gov
Cameron.Reny@Legislature.Maine.gov
Anne.Perry@Legislature.Maine.gov
Poppy.Arford@Legislature.Maine.gov
Sally.Cluchey@Legislature.Maine.gov
Scott.Cyrway@legislature.maine.gov
Anne-Marie.Mastraccio@legislature.maine.gov
Kristi.Mathieson@Legislature.Maine.gov
Joshua.Morris@Legislature.Maine.gov
Robert.Nutting@legislature.maine.gov
jane.pringle@legislature.maine.gov
Gregory.Swallow@Legislature.Maine.gov
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