Maine’s Republican Senate Minority Leader, Trey Stewart, is concerned about a bill moving through the state’s legislature that would make Maine a sanctuary state for abortion and gender-transition procedures for minors, usurping parental rights for those in other states. The bill, known as LD 227, would establish a legal right to abortion and surgical sex changes, protect clinicians from legal penalties, and prohibit interference with these procedures. Republicans warn that the bill could enable the kidnapping of adolescents from states with stricter regulations if brought to Maine. Attorneys general across the country are alarmed by the bill’s potential impact on children’s decision-making rights and its liability shields to those providing unlawful services.
Stewart emphasized that the bill is particularly concerning because it involves children, not consenting adults, and law enforcement would be powerless to intervene in cases where a minor is brought to Maine for such procedures. A group of 16 attorneys general, led by Tennessee’s Jonathan Skrmetti, have sent a letter to Maine officials expressing their concerns about LD 227’s potential ramifications. The bill would offer a liability shield to individuals aiding or offering unlawful services to out-of-state citizens and create a private right of action against law enforcement and officials enforcing their states’ laws, even those upheld by federal appellate courts.
There are currently at least 23 states with restrictions or bans on transgender surgical procedures for minors, and proponents of the bill in Maine, including Planned Parenthood, argue that it will protect medical providers in the state. The bill has sparked controversy for potentially allowing minors to undergo these procedures without parental consent and for creating legal loopholes that could be exploited by individuals seeking these services in Maine. Despite the unusual interjection of other states into Maine’s lawmaking process, the attorneys general believe LD 227’s constitutional transgressions warrant their involvement.
Patience Crozier, a director for the LGBTQ+ Legal Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) organization, defended the bill as a means of protecting transgender individuals from restrictive laws in other states and upholding Maine’s values of reproductive and transgender healthcare rights. The bill is seen as crucial in the current political climate where attacks on transgender rights are prevalent, and Maine aims to stand out as a sanctuary for these individuals and providers. The bill’s supporters argue that it is necessary to protect medical providers and uphold the values of the state in the face of challenges from conservative states with restrictive laws on gender-transition procedures.
