PORTLAND, Maine — Groups against Maine’s new legislation increasing abortion entry received’t try to nullify the statute via a so-called People’s Veto referendum.
Republican Rep. Laurel Libby, chief of the Speak Up for LIFE group, stated Wednesday that allies have determined to focus their assets on electing candidates who’re against abortions as a substitute of accumulating signatures and operating a referendum marketing campaign.
“At the end of the day, we want to put our effort into the most effective place possible,” Libby, a Republican from Auburn, instructed The Associated Press. That means flipping legislative seats, she stated, notably within the Maine House.
The invoice signed into legislation by Democratic Gov. Janet Mills final month permits abortions at any time if deemed medically mandatory by a health care provider, making the legislation one of many nation’s least restrictive. The earlier legislation, the Reproductive Privacy Act of 1993, banned abortions after a fetus grew to become viable exterior the womb, at roughly 24 weeks, with an exception if the affected person’s life is in danger.
Wednesday marked the deadline to inform state officers of a People’s Veto, a constitutional provision permitting residents to repeal laws via a statewide vote. To transfer ahead, greater than 67,000 signatures would have been wanted.
Mills offered the invoice increasing abortion entry after a Yarmouth girl got here ahead together with her story about having to journey to Colorado for an abortion after studying at week 32 of her being pregnant that her unborn son had a deadly situation that might not enable him to outlive.
Critics stated the legislation’s language was broader than mandatory if the objective was merely to permit abortions in cases of a deadly fetal anomaly later in a being pregnant. They additionally stated the invoice put an excessive amount of energy within the palms of docs.
Passage was thought of a foregone conclusion within the Legislature the place Democrats managed each chambers, and there have been sufficient co-sponsors to make sure passage. But the vote was shut within the House after emotional testimony.
Beside Maine, six states go away the choice to get an abortion to docs and their sufferers, with out restrictions. They are Alaska, Colorado, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon and Vermont, plus Washington, D.C.
Content Source: www.washingtontimes.com