Now, 15 states have teamed up and are threatening to sue Maine over its radical transgender protections bill. The bill would allow children to be trafficked across state lines into Maine, where they would receive “gender-affirming care” and the protection of the law.
The state of Maine is considering a bill that would protect children who want to undergo transgender procedures, regardless of their origin. The bill would also automatically invalidate lawsuits in other states that tend not to allow children to receive “gender-affirming care,” since the procedure would become a “legal right” for patients in Maine. I will do it.
Democrats in blue states have introduced LD227the so-called “Maine Health Care Freedom Act,” is a bill that has far-reaching implications not just for Maine, but for every other state.
This bill essentially nullifies any legal action in every other state and makes Maine a “sanctuary state” for transgender children, so many other states have banded together to It has threatened to sue the state in federal court. Prevent the bill from becoming law.
The attorneys general of Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia are , signed a letter warning Maine not to violate legitimate policy choices. I introduced a bill that would invalidate out-of-Maine lawsuits.
“While it is highly unusual for a state to interfere with the legislation of another country, the unique constitutional violations of LD227 merit our comment,” the attorney general said in the letter, according to the newspaper. WMTW-TV. “LD 227 seeks to violate the legitimate policy choices of our state’s citizens by imposing Maine’s views on other states on hotly debated issues such as gender transition surgery for children. The extensive provisions are unprecedented.”
The attorneys general argue that Maine’s bill violates the U.S. Constitution and “ignores the structure of federalism that allows each state to exercise self-government.” They say that if Maine passes LD 227, other states will “actively utilize every tool the Constitution provides.”
The bill would allow anyone to traffic children into Maine for “gender-affirming care” and would prevent enforcement of legal judgments from the children’s home states. For example, if a parent in Texas were successful in obtaining a court order prohibiting their child from receiving gender-affirming care, LD 227 would allow the child to be transferred to Maine; Parents in Texas will be prohibited from having any contact with their children. People undergoing transgender treatment, abortion, or in vitro fertilization.
LD 227 also protects overseas nationals who wish to travel to Maine for late-term radical abortions or in vitro fertilization (both illegal in other states) and ensures that court orders from their home state will be carried out. It will be prevented.
The bill would also protect insurance companies, health care providers, doctors and even police from lawsuits from out-of-state residents.
The bill’s other extreme provision would authorize the prosecution of anyone anywhere who attempts to interfere with the “gender affirmation” process and prevent third parties from changing the gender of our children. This means the parents could end up facing charges. Doctors, hospitals, or other parties.
LD 227 allows individuals who are the subject of an “adversarial action” in another state to file a countersuit in Maine, allowing them to obtain damages, punitive damages, and attorney’s fees from the action.
These provisions essentially allow Maine to threaten other states’ laws if they violate Maine’s proclamations supporting transgenderism, in vitro fertilization, and late-term abortion.
Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey said he was appalled by the letter and felt Maine’s bill could withstand any legal challenge. He also argues that Maine’s law is an anomaly and that several other states already have similar protections in place.
Frey also said the solution to the problem is to adopt Maine’s liberal approach to “gender-affirming care” everywhere. “Harmony among our states will be best maintained and promoted by restraint on the part of all parties seeking to control the health policy choices of other states,” he said.
But opponents of the bill in Maine say Democrats used legislative tricks to get the bill through the state Legislature in a way that allowed Maine to see it in advance and kill any debate. are doing. content.
Democrats introduced the bill in 2023 as a “concept bill,” meaning the bill’s text was not introduced to the Maine Legislature ahead of committee debate in March. All the public could see of the bill online was the one-line title, but no text. The text of the bill was not provided to lawmakers until the committee began debating its provisions. main wire report. In fact, the text of the bill has not yet been posted on the state’s bill tracking website.
Republican Maine Rep. Laurel Libby posted a video explaining what LD 227 does and how it was introduced.
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