AUGUSTA — Advocates gathered at the State House Monday morning to rally in support of a proposal to add the right to an abortion to the Maine Constitution.
The Legislature’s Judiciary Committee will hold a public hearing at 10 a.m. on LD 780, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Eloise Vitelli, D-Arrowsic. The proposal calls for a constitutional amendment “to protect reproductive autonomy.”
Vitelli said in a written statement earlier this month that citizens have a fundamental right to control their own reproductive health, saying it’s necessary for “controlling one’s financial destiny and to being a full participant in society.”
“This includes the right to access abortion care,” Vitelli said. “With the overturning of Roe v. Wade, we were shown that we can’t take for granted that this right is protected. To that end, it’s clear we need direct, explicit language in our state constitution stating that a person’s individual rights include their right to bodily and reproductive autonomy.”
Monday would have been the 51st anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court case that guaranteed federal protections for abortion. But the court ruled in June 2022 striking down the right to an abortion at the federal level.
That led some states to ban or restrict access and others, including Maine, to protect or expand abortion rights.
Voters in California, Michigan, Vermont and Ohio have enshrined abortion rights in their state constitutions since the ruling, and Democrats nationally are betting that abortion rights will be a major driver for voters this year.
LD 780 carried over from the last legislative session, when lawmakers and Gov. Janet Mills signed a historic bill expanding access to abortions later in pregnancy.
The constitutional amendment is seen as providing stronger protection against future efforts to restrict access but is likely to face strong opposition in the wake of last year’s sometimes emotional debates.
The bill needs two-thirds support in both the House and Senate in order to advance to a statewide ballot.
This story will be updated.
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