Maine ‘abortion rights’ amendment proposal fails to get on ballot

Efforts to enshrine a pro-abortion amendment into Maine’s state constitution failed Monday after Senate Republicans unanimously voted against the proposal, ensuring it didn’t get the supermajority required to pass.

L.D. 780, sponsored by Senate Democratic Majority Leader Eloise Vitelli, would have created a referendum for the amendment to be voted on next November.

Voters would have been asked whether they favor a constitutional amendment declaring that “every person has a right to personal reproductive autonomy.”

If passed, the amendment would have prohibited the Maine Legislature from restricting abortion access “unless the denial or infringement is justified by a compelling state interest.”

All 13 Republican Senators voted against the bill, while 20 Democrats voted in favor. Two other democrats were absent. The bill required approval by a two-thirds majority to pass.

Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, several states have passed similar amendments to their state constitutions, such as Kansas, California, New York, Ohio and Michigan.

Some critics accuse those pro-abortion efforts of using tricky ballot language so that voters didn’t understand the ramifications.

“That the ‘no’ campaign [in Kansas] was disingenuous at best, and arguably dishonest, is plain enough,” wrote Michael Ryan, executive editor of The Lion. “It sought, in carpet-bombed advertisements fueled by out-of-state money, to comfort Kansans into voting no by declaring that abortion is already regulated in the state.”

Maine Republicans voiced opposition to the proposed amendment in their state since it was introduced last January.

“Abortion does not empower women, doing the right thing does,” said Republican Rep. Scott Cyrway, “Abortion is not healthcare. At least one person dies in an abortion and sometimes two. Abortion is not safe.” 

Sen. Stacey Guerin also believes the amendment was inappropriate.  

“Abortion is a deeply divisive issue,” the Republican senator said. “Embedding it in our Constitution would only serve to deepen those divisions.” 

The constitutional amendment was among the latest efforts of pro-abortion advocates in Maine, which already has one of the most expansive abortion laws in the country.  

Until last year, Maine banned abortion after viability, or roughly 24 weeks into a pregnancy. 

But last July, Democrat Gov. Janet Mill signed legislation allowing for abortion any time after viability if deemed “medically necessary” by a doctor, which some critics have argued opens the door for late-term abortion.