Two years post-Dobbs, Maine voters remain motivated by abortion, related care
For Immediate Release: June 24, 2024
While attacks at state and federal levels continue, Mainers must remain vigilant and engaged in political process
(Portland, MAINE) - Today marks the two-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that revoked federal protections for abortion. Since then, 21 states have enacted bans or near-total bans on abortion care, doctors and patients have detailed harrowing experiences trying to navigate politically motivated laws, and Maine voters continue to affirm support for protecting and expanding access to essential sexual and reproductive health care.
Voters in Waterville this month ousted anti-abortion Democrat Bruce White in a primary that highlighted White’s record of voting against Mainers’ access to abortion and related care as well as against protecting providers of that care from attacks based on other states’ laws. In his place, primary voters opted to send reproductive rights champion Cassie Julia to the November election.
This month’s primary victory for Julia mirrors attitudes reported in recent polling: Americans want abortion to remain safe and legal, and majorities of Americans across party lines believe it should be easier to access reproductive health care including abortion, contraception, and fertility treatments. New polling shows voters are unwilling to support political candidates who want to restrict or ban abortion and related care.
Yet attacks on reproductive rights and freedoms have only intensified since June 2022, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and stripped people of their right to make personal, private medical decisions without political interference. Anti-abortion extremists have employed every tool at their disposal to force doctors to prioritize politics over medicine and endanger the lives of pregnant people across the country.
State lawmakers have introduced legislation to restrict access to birth control, a court in Alabama issued a ruling that imperils the future of fertility treatments including in-vitro fertilization (IVF), Republicans in the U.S. Senate recently blocked a bill protecting IVF at the federal level, while House Republicans seek to deny members of the military access to abortion and gender-affirming care.
Statement from Lisa Margulies, Esq., Vice President of Public Affairs, Planned Parenthood Maine Action Fund
“The U.S. Supreme Court sent our country into a reproductive health care crisis with the Dobbs ruling.
We have been fortunate here in Maine that most of our elected leaders in Augusta have acted to protect and expand access to care and safeguard our reproductive rights at the state level, but we know this is no time for complacency.
No one is more qualified to make decisions about pregnancy than patients and their medical providers, and we don’t need or want politicians in our exam rooms. Everyone deserves to get the care they need throughout pregnancy without political interference.
Mainers have shown that they are ready and willing to hold their elected leaders accountable at the ballot box, and we will continue our work of educating voters about how their legislators have voted on this and related issues. And we will never stop fighting for everyone to have access to the sexual and reproductive health care they need, when they need it.”
-----
Event advisory: To mark the two-year anniversary of the Dobbs ruling today, Planned Parenthood Maine Action Fund staff and volunteers will participate in a nationwide Day of Action organized by the Maine Women’s March. Organizers and volunteers will be at Monument Square in Portland, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
###
Planned Parenthood Maine Action Fund is an independent, nonpartisan, not-for-profit membership organization formed as the advocacy and political arm of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England in Maine. PPNNE has four health centers in Maine and sees more than 12,000 patients a year.