The Republican-controlled legislature of Maine rejected three bills this week that would have restricted access to abortion in the state.
One bill would have established a 24-hour waiting period for women seeking an abortion, another would have required doctors to read a script to women seeking an abortion in advance of a 24-hour waiting period, and a third would have required notarized parental consent for minors seeking an abortion.
Maine.gov
Kerri L. Prescott
(R-Topsham)
Here, from The Portland Press Herald's reporting, is how one Republican House member argued against the waiting period:
"The fact that government is the one that is making this mandate, they are taking away that right to choose, no matter how long it takes a woman to decide what is best for her," said Rep. Kerri Prescott, R-Topsham. "The fact that government is the one making this choice is something that I cannot support."
The Maine House voted all three bills down on Tuesday and, on Wednesday, the Senate voted to shelve them. How very Wyoming of Maine.
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Kudos to the Republicans for rejecting the intrusive, Christianist mandate for a woman to spawn her child.
If I read about 'one' more abortion bill, my head is gonna explode. How about recalls for elected officials who waste time proposing bills that will never pass. I'm assuming there are no hungry people in Maine, low crime rate, thriving economy, everyone has a job and home not under foreclosure. At least one Repub has a brain. the rest of you guys need to do what you were elected to do.
Hey, don't you know the only ones who matter are those not yet born. Well, and those who contribute campaign funds.
It's a relief to know they haven't ALL lost their minds.
Yes...it's refreshing indeed.
But most of them have. In Alabama today the Gubernor signed a "Papers Please" law.
It strikes me that this is part of a national effort to pass these laws. We hear the same basic legislation proposed in so many states, same wording, everything. Makes it harder when we have to preserve the constitutional privacy of our uteri on 50 levels instead of just one, but the opposition has to draft the legislation once and distribute it to all states with talking points.
They're being proposed at a Federal level as well.
The GOP party of lies and ignorance, actually they are Confederates that claim to be Conservative. What in the hell is Conservatism to these people, because not one of these so called self proclaimed conservative elected official balanced a budget Nationally or in Texas and with the rest of the Southern States they offer intrusive laws that invade Privacy, Freedom of Choice, Public service, and have eliminated social programs for the wealthy tax breaks-Now they see the Nation as a Whole will not stand for their Extremely Radical approach to fulfill the PLUTARCHY of America and destroy all that America once stood for. GOP New Fascism to Plutarchy Party!
DK and Shannoscubie: here's a link to People For the American Way's newletter "outing" an organization called ALEC, which writes all these bills for all these lockstep righties to propose in their state legislatures.
http://site.pfaw.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=20881.0&printer_friendly=1
Abortion, Rape, and the Shameful Legacy of the Hyde Amendment
http://prochoicewashington.wordpress.com/2011/06/10/abortion-rape-and-the-shameful-legacy-of-the-hyde-amendment/
Maybe there is a large contingent of anti-Choice born-again conservative fundamentalist Christians who are frustrated scriptwriters and have a side-business as notaries public up there in Maine?
In my state of Georgia...a petition has been sent around to kill Roe v. Wade. This upsets me a I believe in the right to choose not to be told how to live. I also feel many of these abortion activists are pushing their religious beliefs on others which is against the Constitution and since the republicans are so Constitutional aware...so they say ....they should know better. To accuse Obama's health care plan as being invasive is a joke as they they invaded the privacy between doctor and patient in my opinion. I believe in Texas, they interferred with a doctor's decision to abort a child for the sake of the mother so it was necessary for her to almost bleed to death in order to make Mr. Santorum feel like a better person. Just saying...as Rachel likes to say.
Wait. There's a petition to kill RvW ? How does that even work? Can I petition to overturn SCOTUS just because it tickles me?
So, obviously, this is a national effort and not a particularly covert one. The language proposed is virtually the same in every state. It is much harder to defend the constitutional privacy of our uteri on 50 levels than it is for them to threaten it with what is essentially a mass mailing. Now, how do we develop a national plan to protect our uteri (I just love that word) from government encroachment?
Search for "uterus" on facebook. Maybe it's called "uterati," I forget. Anyway, it's great.
Cindy, I love your new word "uterati". Do you mind if I steal it? I can see the bumper sticker: "Uterati, united, will never be defeated!"
Its all about control over women. Why don't they out law Viagra or make stronger laws on parents who do not support their children, be they divorced or single pregnant and he walks away? Because they want to control women and they think by her having kids will make it harder for her to leave him. Shameful times in USA when women and men have worked so hard to get rights for women.
I can't speak for women. But I'm sure it must be all kinds of creepy to know that the state owns your reproductive functions. They reserve the right to tell you exactly what you can and cannot do with them.
Oh, but they won't fund healthcare services for them. That would be socialism.
The Republicans loooove the unborn. It's the born they don't like ... well, at least those with net worth under a billion dollars.
Vox....you nailed it. It is creepy. And maddening.
And "Fer shure....like.... we wouldn't want to be... like.... those pinko, commie, liberals that want the guv'ment to do our thinking for us and do....like..... health care for all. That's just ...like....totally un-American, dude"
When I first got news of these proposals, I emailed my senators and representatives immediately and told them in big letters that none of them have the right to tell me what to do with my body. I am so proud that Maine didn't jump on the bandwagon with so many other states that have approved these bills. It was a good day in Maine.
Yeah, this is a good thing, but overall I'm still not happy with the GOP. We can also be happy that they've tabled the Union stuff for now.
We can still complain about the insurance bill that the GOP rushed through, some of them not even know what they were voting on. I'm also not happy that they've voted to get rid of same-day registration for voting.
Yes, they dropped one of the big ones, for now at least, but I don't think that this is going to go away. I know they're going to bring the Union bills back again because that's on LePage's agenda. As long as the GOP is in control, I'm still going to be leery of what goes on in Augusta.
@Pat Napolitano: Yeah, life down here in Georgia for a sane person is just "peachy."
Interestingly, this "most Christian" of all social prohibitions isn't really Christian at all. Jesus is silent on the matter of abortion, as are Paul and the other new testatment letter writers.
There is a Torah based prohibition, but this is the same portion of the Bible that authorizes slavery (Leviticus) and putting to death those who touch the skin of a pig (sorry football fans). The penchant is for Christians (who all too often prefer a new set of rules to the freedom of the spirit their messiah promised) to selectively take parts of the law as law while ignoring other parts.
Another commentor noted that this is the new "50 state strategy". The dems, under Howard Dean's leadership used a 50 state strategy to win both houses of Congress. The Dems, however, are TOTALLY unprepared for the Republican 50 state strategy which does, at the state level, what gridlock prevents at the federal level.
It does sound as if at least ONE Republican woman in government still has her head screwed on correctly, and understands that personal decisions are -- you know -- "personal."
I think we may be able to take some guarded comfort from that.
I think it is of significance that this occurs in a state with two Republican women as senators and in the Northeast. This is more like the Republicans I used to know.
The kind of Republicans we have become accustomed to seeing in the last three decades are largely the descendants of Southern segregationists. I refer to them as Old Testament Republicans. They tend to be unforgiving and mean-spirited. They view their relative wealth as a sign that they are receiving God's favour, and that the poor for the most part are poor because they deserve it. You folks outside the South are simply assuming that a Republican is a Republican is a Republican. These are Republicans who are entirely capable of forming a plan to gain overwhelming power. Once they have it, they will not easily relinquish that power. Watch them in states where they have the power. They will stretch and bend the rules to reach their objectives. They do not believe in separation of church and state. They do not believe that history cannot be rewritten to suit their objectives. Those of you who remember the old Republicans, the pre-Nixon Republicans, should reflect on these three questions. Would the old Republicans have denied a fact that was before them because it interfered with their preconceptions? Would they spin pseudo-facts? Would they practice the Big Lie?
If ever this country becomes a fascist nation, I promise you, it will have its roots in the South. Socially, we have not come as far into the light as many non-Southerners might think. Liberals and moderates are isolated and feeble in the South. There is no chance that President Obama will carry the Deep South nor does he have much chance of carrying Virginia and North Carolina. He might carry Florida, but don't bank on it. Redistricting this year will give many of these states even more electoral votes.
Those of you who read this, remember my words in 2012.
Are you referring to old Republicans such as Sen. Joe McCarthy?
Rob is talking about Republicans like Margaret Chase Smith and Bill Cohen. Yes, I know they are also moderate Maine Republicans, but I can't name former Senators and Congressmen from other states right off the top of my head.
I think Margaret Chase Smith's Declaration of Conscience should be required reading for everyone in the country. Yes, some of what she is saying is dated because of McCarthy, but so much of that speech still resonates, especially now in the times that we're in.
I do respect Snowe and Collins, but they have towed the party line quite a bit recently even though they are hounded by the far right for being too moderate. Granted, the best votes they've made recently were against the Ryan Budget and for ending the oil subsidies.
It appears that there are some moderate Republicans in Augusta at least on this issue, but it doesn't balance out the ones who are on the far right on a lot of the other stuff that has come up. It doesn't help that our current Governor is not one of those moderate Republicans who are a dying breed in American politics.
Now that those bills are defeated, I guess we won't be getting all the jobs they'd have created. sigh
I think the only people in the state of Maine who have done anything to create jobs are the people of Bangor when they voted to replace the Auditorium.
I have no clue when that building project is going to start though. I haven't seen anything since the vote about a month ago.
There's also the Casino in Southern Maine, but once again, that one was put to the voters in the last election. Not that I'm excited about a casino bringing economic development to Maine, but that's deviating from my point. I'm not sure when construction is going to start for that one either.
So, yeah, it doesn't really surprise me that the GOP didn't do anything for jobs. Wasn't LePage the one who insisted that Maine was "Open for Business?" He had a sign that said so, for a few months anyway, but the sign and slogan weren't going to change anything no matter how much he wants everyone to believe that.
In this day and age its strange to see someone give the other side credit, especially for sticking to what they say they stand for. But I'm in 100 percent agreement. Credit must be given. They claim to be small government and here they have proven it. Go Maine Repubs. Let's not wait so long for the next time we see eye to eye!
Abortion is divisive to the Republican party. The anti-abortion legislation may attract the fundie votes but that comes with the loss of a lot of women voters. Most women who are elected to office are intelligent and articulate. Republicans are taking advantage of party unity for these legislative votes. But there is a point of diminishing returns.
Women voters tend to be independent and are not straight party voters. These independent voters are the people that both parties are vying for in elections. The abortion issue can be the difference in close elections. This push for anti-abortion legislation may become an issue in the upcoming elections. It would be interesting to see polls about what women voters are thinking about this issue.
I'm a Christian, a woman, and an independent, and I am appalled at what the pubs are trying to do nationwide, pretty much across the board but in particular to women's rights. Yeah, I know all the church's teachings about abortion, and in theory I am against it. But I do NOT believe it should be regulated by law. This is a highly personal and agonizing decision, one that should remain between a woman and her doctor. I spent years working in labor and delivery, and I saw the heartbreak of babies born with multiple defects who were basically left to die on their own. I also saw the result of an aborted fetus that was far enough along to survive the procedure.......and was left alone in a hallway incubator with no nourishment, also left to die.
The point is that it's a horrible business, deciding whether a baby lives or dies, but it's a MEDICAL one, not one that should have any input from heartless lawmakers with an agenda.
I live in NY, and I applaud Rep. Prescott for speaking up. I also, however, have a home in FL, and I am terrified that the state is becoming more and more redneck and backwards. God help us all if the pubs get their way.
My objection to abortion laws is that it cedes a right to the government that should be a medical decision between a woman and her doctor. There is no other recognized medical procedure that requires all sorts of prerequisites about informed consent, etc. If we cede the right to government to regulate one procedure, then you have essentially ceded the right for the government to regulate any medical procedure. I am a true libertarian, not the faux TP libertarian or Ron Paul type. Libertarianism has nothing to do with government spending and taxes. It is a philosophy that the government should keep out of people's personal lives. That is true liberty. The term "libertarian" has been hijacked by the Ayn Rand followers. I am a fan of Thoreau and you won't find him advocating any economic system in his writings.
Actually, in most circumstaces, and health care related to transgender issues requires a lot of jumping through hoops. Informed consent is the "easy" way to get trans-related health care.
Someone going for a sex change is not jumping through hoops for the government. Those obstacles are made by the medical profession.
I am envious of the good people of Maine. You actually have some thinking republicans there. Good for you. Can you send one or two my way? I've got Jon (90% of PP is abortions) Kyle and John (build the dang fence) McCain...and state reps just like them. *shudders*
Gawd.....somebody feel sorry for me. ;)
I do...
Me too.
You've got it. Hugs and a nice cool drink too - you deserve it for living in the land of the lost.
Awwww...you guys are the best! ;)
FTR....I should be fair...while I do not agree with my reps and I did not vote for them....I love this state.
Yes, give the GOP credit with the anti-abortion legislation, but they haven't done enough of this.
The GOP in Maine has gone after the Unions, but they've tabled those bills for now at least. They've voted to eliminate same-day voter registration, something that has worked in Maine for decades, and I think that legislation also included needing an ID to vote. That might have been a separate bill, but everything has started to run together that I'm losing track of all the stuff they've tried to do and have done.
Then there was LD222 that both House and Senate passed unanimously, and then LePage vetoed it. One would think that since it passed unanimously, then they'd have no problem overriding the veto, but nope, the GOP changes their minds. The Senate didn't bring the bill back for a vote since they couldn't override the veto without the House also overriding it. The whole situation about this one bill still boggles my mind. Yes, I know politics is involved, but I'm still shaking my head.
I need to stop typing. Yes, saner heads prevailed in Augusta on this one issue, but it's just not enough for given all the other stuff that's happened since they took office, and I'm not even going to get started on the Governor.
For a moment there I thought the paragraph was going in the horrifying direction of "established a 24-hour waiting period (for a man seeking to have sex with a woman)" but as men get of scot-free in every aspect of the women's reproductive healthcare debate this should be no different.
Huh...ya know...that is not a bad idea.
And also, during the mandatory 24 hr waiting period to have sex, the man is forced to watch ultrasounds [home movies] of shot-gun weddings, shown trends on how his sex life will suffer due to a child in the house, how much it actually costs to feed, clothe, school, and house a child, show ultrasounds of screaming kids in Wal-Mart, Smiths, the theaters, sitting next to you on an airplane, or behind you on the plane and kicking your seat. He will not be allowed to sleep for that 24 hours so that he knows what it's like to function on no sleep due to an infant in the house.
He will be forced to listen to a script written by the legislature about how his dream sports car must now be traded in for a mini-van, how he will be forced to stay in a menial, low-paying job because he can't afford to quit and do without the crappy insurance, how his hair will turn pre-maturely gray and he'll develop a "beer gut". Not to mention that he will be at higher risk for prostate cancer, heart attack, high blood pressure, diabetes and mental breakdown. And we don't need scientific facts for these claims, we all know that the legislature is not interested in scientific or medical facts.
Yes......that sounds like a splendid idea.....I guarantee he'll buy her the damn pills. Or at least a condom.
I think voters are beginning to get wise to the Republican tactics and agenda, but will enough of them get aware enough to keep them out of power in 2012? Karl Rove knows he can buy three ignorant votes for the price of one informed vote but the price of ignorant votes may have gone up in recent months. Unfortunately, with the Citizens United case, corporate money can go a long way toward buying the ignorant votes remaining.