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Home » News » Featured » Gov. Mills Expands Access to Late-Term Abortion by Signing One of the Nation’s Least Restrictive Abortion Policies Into Law
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Gov. Mills Expands Access to Late-Term Abortion by Signing One of the Nation’s Least Restrictive Abortion Policies Into Law

Libby PalanzaBy Libby PalanzaJuly 19, 2023Updated:July 19, 20238 Comments6 Mins Read
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Gov. Janet Mills (D) signed LD 1619 into law this morning, officially expanding access to late-term abortion in Maine. Consequently, Maine now has one of the nation’s least restrictive abortion policies.

The new law allows women to abort their baby “after viability” if it is deemed “necessary in the professional judgment of a physician.”

Previously, Maine law prohibited abortion after the point of viability except in cases where the life or health of the mother was in jeopardy.

In the final weeks of the session, legislators approved this change by a roll call vote of 73-69 in the House and 20-11 in the Senate after a series of highly contentious debates.

July 19th Signing Ceremony

At this morning’s signing ceremony, Gov. Mills stated “this bill has been the product of a great deal of collaboration among many people in the legislature and outside the legislature.”

“In the year since Roe v. Wade was overturned, more than a dozen states have enacted extreme bans on abortion. As a result, in America today, nearly one-third of all American women no longer have access to abortion,” Mills said.

“It’s easy to believe that these attacks on reproductive rights only exist beyond our state’s borders, that here in Maine these rights are safe and protected. But this session alone, this legislative session alone, Republican lawmakers in Maine introduced bills to restrict reproductive by enforcing ultrasounds, by mandating biased counseling, by taking away insurance coverage for low-income people especially, and by restricting access to abortion for rural women,” Mills said.

Among the bills likely being referenced by Mills in these comments are:

  • LD 494: An Act to Conform State Funding to the Federal Hyde Amendment, Limiting Funding for Some Abortion Services
  • LD 1294: An Act to Protect the Quality of Care Provided via Telehealth by Prohibiting Physicians from Prescribing Abortion-inducing Drugs or Devices Through Telehealth or Other Electronic Communication
  • LD 1614: An Act to Require an Ultrasound and Certain Counseling Before an Abortion

“We, this year, have turned back these attempts to undermine reproductive rights in Maine, and instead, we have preserved and expanded reproductive freedom in Maine,” Mills said, referring to the passage of LD 1619.

“By signing LD 1619, ‘An Act to Improve Maine’s Reproductive Privacy Laws,’ we are affirming that Maine people, guided by their medical professionals, their families, their personal and spiritual beliefs, that they will make decisions about their reproductive health care,” she said.

“Current Maine law allows for abortion later in pregnancy only to preserve the life or health of the mother, but this standard – that we are about to change – fails to address the varied and very difficult circumstances faced by some women in their pregnancies,” Mills stated.

“Opponents have called this bill extreme quote, gruesome quote, depraved, barbaric, or even quote evil. But what is extreme is forcing a woman to become dangerously ill from a pregnancy in order to seek abortion care. What is extreme is forcing a woman to give birth to a child that is going to immediately die. What is extreme is forcing a woman to leave her state to seek care. What is extreme is what’s going on in Florida, Iowa, Mississippi, Texas, and other states where abortion is virtually banned by the same radical forces that are calling this bill extreme or radical,” Mills argued.

“It is a reasonable, limited, and compassionate response to the failings of current law and their impact on Maine women,” Mills said.

Currently, only six other states – including Alaska, Colorado, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, and Vermont – and Washington, D.C. have similar laws on books allowing doctors, without restriction, to authorize abortions at any point during a pregnancy.

Mills’ Shifting Stance on Abortion

Mills’ strong backing of LD 1619 represents a reversal of the abortion stance upon which she campaigned in 2022.

Although her support for abortion in general was never in doubt, she made clear during her campaign that as governor she would not attempt to alter Maine’s existing abortion regulation, which prohibited abortion after approximately 28 weeks except under explicitly-defined circumstances.

“I have no plans to change the current law,” Mills stated emphatically during the October 2022 gubernatorial debate.

According to the administration, Mills shifted her position regarding Maine’s abortion laws after hearing the story of Yarmouth resident Dana Pierce, who spent $40,000 to receive an abortion in Colorado after being blocked from pursuing one in Maine. Pierce was seeking an abortion because her baby had been diagnosed with a rare and fatal abnormality.

Pierce spoke at this morning’s signing ceremony, as did representatives of the Maine Medical Association and the Maine Council of Churches.

Mills’ Plans for Other Abortion-Related Legislation

In a statement released after this morning’s ceremony, Mills announced that she soon plans to sign into law a series of other abortion-related bills.

Included among these bills are:

  • LD 263: An Act to Ensure Access to Family Planning Services
  • LD 616: An Act to Protect Health Care Professionals Providing Reproductive Health Care Services
  • LD 935: An Act to Remove Barriers to Abortion Coverage in Private Insurance
  • LD 1343: An Act to Protect the Reproductive Freedom of Maine People by Preempting the Field of Abortion Regulation

LD 263 and LD 935 are both focused on addressing insurance coverage for abortions, as well as other services related to reproductive health.

LD 616 is aimed at blocking the possibility that legal action could be taken against providers in Maine for performing abortions on women traveling from out of state.

LD 1343 prevents municipalities from adopting ordinances that may conflict with state-level abortion laws.

For More of the Maine Wire’s Coverage of this Bill, Check Out These Stories

Late-term Abortion Bill Headed for Janet Mills’ Signature

Maine House Votes to Approve Gov. Janet Mills’ Controversial Late-Term Abortion Bill in Major Victory for Planned Parenthood

Dems Block Debate on Gov’s Late-Term Abortion Bill, Refuse GOP Questioning of Medical Experts

Mills’ Late-Term Abortion Bill Gets Last Minute Work Session for Thursday Afternoon

Pro-Life Group Thinks Mills’ Late-Term Abortion Bill Lacks Votes to Pass

State House: Pro-lifers rally against Mills’ unlimited abortion bill; left-wing groups push paid leave payroll tax

Maine Women’s Lobby on Late-term Abortion Bill: “This One’s in the Bag”

Mills Makes Hard Push to Legalize Abortion Up To Nine Months

Maine Democrats Want to Legalize Abortion At Anytime in Pregnancy Despite Mills’ Campaign Stance

From the Maine Wire Podcast

Gov’s Late-Term Abortion Bill Heads to House Amid Acrimony

Carroll Conley on Abortion, LGBT, and Religious Liberty in Maine

From Maine Wire TV

Abortion on Trial: Jamie Jeffries on Dr. Shannon Carr

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Libby Palanza

Libby Palanza is a reporter for the Maine Wire and a lifelong Mainer. She graduated from Harvard University with a degree in Government and History. She can be reached at palanza@themainewire.com.

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<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="20946 https://www.themainewire.com/?p=20946">8 Comments

  1. ME Infidel on July 19, 2023 5:38 PM

    How fitting, a photo op of the Baby Killers taken by the ACLU of ME.

    Just think of what life in this state would be like if we had an attractive, pro business and fossil fuel advocate who is also pro life such as Gov. Kristi Noem instead of the communist from hell with her ilk in positions of power. There are no two ways about it; these ideologues are evil political hacks and deserve NO respect.

  2. Steven Gasper on July 19, 2023 10:06 PM

    Abortion would end overnight if you educated the women getting them how much money the medical industry was receiving when selling the body parts of the human that would have/was their Child.

  3. Rick on July 20, 2023 6:32 AM

    Maine, the way death should be!

  4. Joellaferriere on July 20, 2023 7:10 AM

    Whew, Lord help me…this Governor is on fire for Satan! Being a true American Patriot mandates that we all abide in our declared self- evident truth unalienable right to this life endowed by our all Creator God.failure to do so renders one oblivious of their own secured safe passage ensured by others.Golden Rule! 9th,in my immediate family to have proudly served .1943 -1965..”Our Father who art in Heaven… awaken our hearts,minds and souls.

  5. Katherine Perron on July 20, 2023 9:33 AM

    I was there – testifying in front of the Judicial committee about this bill – at 4:15 AM on May 2. There were over 675 Mainers testifying vs 65 Anti life people. The governor and most democrats do NOT listen to the people of Maine. She lied to get re-elected. Why would anyone object to giving a woman an ultrasound to see the baby growing within? It’s because 80% of women who see an ultrasound decide to keep their baby. Science note – “It’s NOT your body!” The baby’s DNA to totally different from the mother. So because of one woman’s horrific incident, the governor has now passed a law that is just as bad, if not worse, than China and N Korea’s abortion laws.
    Democrats who oppose life need to be voted out. Let’s do it!

  6. joyce gibran on July 20, 2023 10:00 AM

    Does killing babies mean Maine will be in the business of selling baby parts?…..? Maine is open for business!

  7. Corey on July 20, 2023 11:04 AM

    They need the baby parts to cook up the Quackseens!
    It’s a business, MANNNN!!!!!

  8. Linda on July 20, 2023 11:28 AM

    Herr Mills and her Marxist regime listened to and took money from Planned Parenthood to support their profitable business of selling fetal baby parts. Each and every one of those people will not escape final judgement but rest assured, it will happen if they choose to continue down this path of destruction. The Democrat’s sick and twisted ideology of killing unborn babies, including those who are capable of surviving outside the womb, can try to spin and twist this as “women’s health” or “reproductive freedom” but in reality it is about big business making a lot of money and their lobbyists spreading that money throughout Maine. This Democrat dominated regime tried to censor the pro-life people who showed up in Augusta to testify against this bill. I am grateful to Rep. Libby for her efforts to educate the people of Maine and to shed light on the big money behind this bloody bill.

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