Governor of Maine, Janet Mills signed a bill into law on Wednesday, July 19, 2023, that allows abortions at any time if deemed medically necessary by a doctor.
With this, Maine joins six other states that leave the decision to get an abortion to doctors and their patients, without restrictions. These states are Alaska, Colorado, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon and Vermont, as well as Washington, D.C.
Before signing the bill, Mills, a Democrat, averred, “Maine law should recognize that every pregnancy, like every woman, is different, and that politicians cannot and should not try to legislate the wide variety of difficult circumstances pregnant women face.”
The law goes into effect 90 days after the state Legislature’s session ends in the coming weeks.
The previous law in Maine banned abortions after a foetus becomes viable outside the womb, at approximately 24 weeks, but permitted an exception if the patient’s life is at risk.
Mills had stated during her re-election campaign that the old law did not need to be changed.
However, she changed her mind after learning of a Maine veterinarian who needed to travel to Colorado for an abortion after learning at week 32 of her pregnancy that her unborn son had a fatal condition that would not allow him to survive.
The veterinarian, Dana Peirce, was present at the bill signing, standing behind the lectern alongside medical providers in white jackets, several lawmakers and the Executive Director of the Maine Council of Churches.
On Wednesday, Peirce recounted her painful decision to have an abortion to spare further pain for her unborn son, and she said she’s pleased that others facing the same circumstances will have a choice to have an abortion in Maine.
“I do want to recognize that another mother might not make the choice that I did, but I would never seek to take that decision away from her,” Peirce said.
Also, The Rev. Jane Field of the Maine Council of Churches said that the group’s more than 400 congregations support the bill rather than a one-size-fits-all approach to abortion.
“We do not believe that anyone should be forced to remain pregnant by the government against the advice of their own doctor,” Field noted.
Passage of the bill was considered a foregone conclusion in the Legislature where Democrats controlled both chambers, and there were enough co-sponsors to ensure passage.
Nonetheless, the bill generated emotional debate.
Law’s Language Broader Than Necessary
The law’s language, according to critics, was broader than necessary if the only intention of the law was to permit abortions in situations involving a fatal fetal anomaly later in a pregnancy
They claimed that it could lead to a dramatic increase in post-viability abortions, adding that it places too much faith in doctors to make a judgement.
As opposed to during the legislative debate, there were fewer demonstrators in the State House on Wednesday. Instead, a lone demonstrator stood outside the governor’s cabinet room holding a sign that called the law a “death sentence” for unborn babies in red letters.
Abortions later in pregnancy, known as termination for medical reasons or TFMRs, are rare. In the U.S, about 1% happen after 21 weeks, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tallies, which do not have full data from every state.
Nationally, many Republican-controlled states are doing just the opposite from what Maine did by either banning or restricting abortions since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a patient’s constitutional right to an abortion, leaving it up to individual states to regulate the procedure.
Meanwhile, most Democratic-controlled states have taken steps to protect abortion access, though none has gone as far as Maine since the Supreme Court ruling last year.
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