Republican states threaten to sue Maine over abortion and transgender care bill

AUGUSTA, Maine — Top prosecutors in 16 Republican-led states issued a letter to Maine Democrats that threatened a lawsuit if they pass a “shield” bill aiming to protect out-of-state patients that get abortions and gender-affirming care here.

The letter from Republican attorneys general, which was first reported by Fox News and was posted online by state Rep. Laurel Libby, R-Auburn, on Monday, came less than a week after a public hearing drew a large crowd of conservatives to a State House hearing to oppose the measure backed by abortion-rights and progressive groups including Planned Parenthood.

It is a product of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to end federal abortion rights and amounts to a rare example of politicians in other states mobilizing against legislation here. The bill is now shaping up to be the subject of one of the bigger cultural fights in Augusta this year.

The bill from Rep. Anne Perry, D-Calais, aims to protect out-of-state patients and health care providers who perform abortions and gender-affirming surgery from prosecution or litigation in states that have banned or limited those procedures. Those protected could use the Maine courts to sue agencies in conservative-led states under the measure.

Roughly half of states have moved to ban or severely restrict abortions since the high court overturned Roe v. Wade, according to the abortion-rights Guttmacher Institute . Democratic states like Maine have moved in the opposite direction, with roughly a dozen states enacting shield protections around either abortion or gender-affirming care.

These laws have not yet been tested in the courts. But the letter from the attorneys general led by Jonathan Skrmetti of Tennessee threatens a lawsuit, saying the shield law stands out nationally for allowing lawsuits in this manner and threatens to undermine the federalist system of government leaving many issues to the states.

“The totalitarian impulse to stifle dissent and oppress dissenters has no place in our shared America,” the attorneys general wrote.

The letter was addressed to top Democrats including Mills and Attorney General Aaron Frey. Frey’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the letter.

Mills has been an ardent proponent of abortion-rights expansions. She issued an executive order after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022 that barred state personnel from aiding abortion investigations in other jurisdictions and championed a controversial law last year that allowed doctors to perform post-viability abortions over steadfast Republican opposition.

The letter from the top Republican officials in other states is similar to one issued last year in opposition to a rule change from President Joe Biden’s administration aimed at shielding abortion records from investigators in other states. They argued it would hamper their ability to enforce their own laws.

“Given the national climate, it is more important than ever that Maine join this growing movement, affirm its commitment to essential health care, and pursue every possible avenue to safeguard providers in our state,” Lisa Margulies, a vice president for public affairs at Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, said in testimony backing the Maine bill last week.