Maine Committee Passes Bill to Force Residents to Spend $600,000 Funding Abortions

State   |   Christina Vazquez   |   Apr 10, 2019   |   6:03PM   |   Augusta, Maine

A Maine bill that would mandate state taxpayer funding for abortions is making headway.

This past Tuesday, the Maine Legislature’s Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services Committee voted 7-5 to advance legislation that would set aside about $600,000 to cover abortions over a two-year budget cycle under Maine’s Medicaid program, or MaineCare. It also would force private carriers that cover maternity services to cover abortion procedures, WAGM News reports.

The members of the Health Coverage Committee voted along party lines, with the five Republican members voting against the bill, L.D. 820, the Press Herald reported.

Democratic state Rep. Jay McCreight introduced the pro-abortion bill, and it has 80 co-sponsors. Bangor Daily News reports the bill would supplant a federal ban on abortion funding and would increase access to abortions in Maine, which already has loose restrictions on abortion.

In Maine, Democrats control both chambers of the legislature and Democratic Gov. Janet Mills also endorsed the bill. L.D. 820 is one of the many measures the state legislature is taking to further propagate the atrocities of abortion. The Maine legislature is considering several other abortion-related bills, such as one that would allow nurses to perform abortions.

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L.D. 820 received a lot of pushback leading up to the committee vote. Dozens of pro-life advocates traveled to the State House during a hearing to protest the bill. Opponents of the bill argued that the bill would force Maine taxpayers to foot the bill for abortions, whether they like it or not.

Carroll Conley, the executive director of the evangelical Christian Civic League of Maine, asked legislators in a written statement to consider the views of “citizens they represent who do not want to participate in the taking of innocent human life.”

If passed, Maine would be the 15th state to require taxpayer-funded abortions through their Medicaid program, joining states like Vermont, Massachusetts and Connecticut.