‘Totalitarian’ bill would establish Maine as sanctuary state for abortions, trans surgeries

(The Daily Signal) – A Democrat-led bill seeks to establish a legal right to abortions, transgender surgeries, and hormonal treatments in Maine, and protect those traveling from outside of the state to get such procedures there.

LD 227 would establish a legal right to “gender-affirming health care services” and “reproductive health care services” within Maine, according to a draft copy of the bill published by The Maine Wire. The publication reported that the bill would also ban “interference with legally protected health care activity,” including abortions and attempted sex-change surgeries.

“Gender-affirming” care is a euphemism used by leftist activists and the media to describe transgender surgeries, hormones, and puberty blockers. Radical gender ideologues insist that “gender-affirming care” is necessary for those who are experiencing gender dysphoria.

The bill relies on an understanding of “gender-affirming health care services” established by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, an organization newly under fire for dangerous experimentation upon minors.

The legislation has been warmly welcomed by left-wing groups, such as Planned Parenthood Maine Action Fund, which claimed that the bill would “ensure Maine’s health care providers aren’t penalized under the laws of other states.”

“LD 227 is a straightforward bill to ensure that Maine law can continue to govern Maine health care,” said Polly Crozier, the director of family advocacy for GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, in a joint press release with Planned Parenthood. “Maine is committed to protecting access to essential health care for transgender people and to reproductive health care, including abortion.”

But critics, such as Republican Maine state Rep. Josh Morris, assert that the bill “is extreme in its assault on family values,” adding that it “sanctions kidnapping and shields doctors from any consequences.”

In a letter sent Monday, 16 Republican state attorneys general sent a letter to Maine Gov. Janet Mills and Maine state Attorney General Aaron Frey, both Democrats. That letter slams the bill as a “novel effort at state-sanctioned culture war litigation tourism,” claiming the bill violates the Constitution and “flouts” the U.S.’ federalist structure.

“If Maine pursues LD 227’s constitutionally defective approach, we will vigorously avail ourselves of every recourse our Constitution provides,” the attorneys general wrote.

The attorneys general contend that LD 227 creates a private right of action for damages against prosecutors, law enforcement, and other officials in states outside of Maine who are enforcing “our own valid state laws, even laws whose constitutionality has been confirmed by federal appellate courts.”

“On top of that,” they add, “LD 227 purports to block valid orders and judgments from our state courts enforcing laws upheld by federal appellate courts.”

“In America, we have the right to disagree,” the attorneys general emphasize. “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. We will not allow laws like LD 227 to deter us from protecting the integrity of our States’ democratic processes.”