A proposal to expand access to abortions narrowly passed Thursday night in the Maine House, clearing the first hurdle after lawmakers kicked off an emotional floor debate.
The 74-72 vote was closer than expected after at least one Democratic co-sponsor had a change of heart, joining lawmakers opposed to the proposal that would give the state one of the least restrictive abortion laws in the country.The bill introduced by Democratic Gov. Janet Mills with the backing of legislative leaders would allow abortions any time before birth if deemed necessary by a medical provider.
One of the co-sponsors, Rep. Walter Wiseman, D-Harrison, said he decided the current state law is “doing its job.”The bill is one of several abortion-related bills before lawmakers this session. The debate began days before the one-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning the Roe v. Wade decision that women had a constitutional right to an abortion, returning authority to the states.
“Medical professionals are best positioned to make the decisions to help Mainers make the decisions that will serve them and maintain the ethical guardrails needed in the later stages of pregnancy,” Sheehan said. Rep. Colleen Madigan, D-Waterville, who supports the bill, was one of the lawmakers to put the bill in personal terms, noting that her mother didn’t have a choice when she gave birth to a baby with a fatal anomaly and watched her newborn son die over the course of a day.
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