Tomorrow, the bill LD 975: “An Act to Repeal Laws Allowing Abortion and to Criminalize Abortion,” will be introduced to the 132nd Maine Legislature. Sponsored by Representative Abigail Griffin and co-sponsored by Representative Michael Lemelin, this legislation seeks to repeal existing laws that permit abortion in Maine and aims to criminalize the procedure. As summarized by the 132nd Maine Legislature, “This bill repeals the laws authorizing abortion in the State. The bill also repeals the crimes of elevated aggravated assault on a pregnant person and domestic violence elevated aggravated assault on a pregnant person and instead defines “human being” and “person” for purposes of the Maine Criminal Code, including for purposes of the statutes prohibiting murder, assault, domestic violence assault and other offenses against a human being or a person, to include all human beings beginning at the moment of conception.”

So what does this mean? Essentially, LD 975 would make major changes to multiple sections of state law and criminalize abortion procedures. If passed, this bill would revise the definition of “human being” in Maine Criminal Code to include the moment of conception onwards as a human being, granting legal personhood to embryos and fetuses. It would also remove references to abortion from different state statutes, including but not limited to those regarding reproductive health care services, family planning and medical records. It would remove previous legal protections for abortion services, repeal whole chapters of law relating to reproductive health and add new reporting requirements for miscarriages.

LD 975 defines “abortion” as the intentional interruption of pregnancy and would require healthcare professionals to report every miscarriage to the state, while purportedly trying to ensure the confidentiality of the patient and healthcare providers. Additionally, it would remove previous provisions regarding abortion services from medical professional regulations, insurance coverage and emergency medical service information collection. By expanding the definition of “person” to include conception and by removing abortion-related legal protections, the bill effectively criminalizes abortion in Maine and treats abortion as a potential criminal offense under existing assault and homicide statutes.

LD 975 is an egregious assault on bodily autonomy and reproductive rights, and we urge you to use your voice and submit testimony in its opposition, and/or write to our elected officials in opposition. If you wish to submit testimony, here is a guide:

HOW TO WRITE A TESTIMONY:

1. Please start each testimony with this sentence:

Sen. Carney, Rep. Kuhn, Members of the Judiciary Committee, I am _________, I live in ____________, and I am (a student/member of__).

2. Your next sentence will be a statement of support/opposition:

I am writing in opposition to LD 975, An Act to Repeal Laws Allowing Abortion and to Criminalize Abortion, which strips Mainers of essential reproductive rights and endangers the well-being of women and families across Maine.

3. Your WHY!

What would living in Maine if abortion is criminalized mean for you, your community and the state as a whole? This is your time to state that, in however many paragraphs.

Ex: “Abortion bans do not reduce the number of abortions; they reduce the number of safe abortions. They put people’s lives at risk, criminalize doctors and strip individuals of their fundamental right to make private medical decisions. Every pregnancy is different, and so is every person facing one. Some pregnancies are nonviable. Some put the pregnant person’s life at risk. Some occur under devastating circumstances, such as rape or incest. And sometimes, a person simply is not ready or able to carry a pregnancy to term. None of these deeply personal decisions should be dictated by the government.”

4. Final paragraph: Reiterate the importance of the bill in relation to your personal experience.

Ex: “If lawmakers genuinely cared about reducing abortions, they would expand access to contraception, comprehensive sex education, affordable childcare and maternal healthcare. But this bill does none of that. Instead, it punishes people for their circumstances and removes their bodily autonomy. I urge you to reject this cruel and dangerous legislation. The government has no place in personal medical decisions. Let people make these choices with their doctors, their families and their own conscience—not with politicians.”

HOW DO I SUBMIT MY WRITTEN TESTIMONY?

GO TO https://www.mainelegislature.org/testimony/
Select “Public Hearing”
Choose “Judiciary Committee”
Choose the date Mar 28, 2025 (or whatever date), and select the bill for said testimony
LD 975 is under the time slot of 9:30 a.m.
Paste or upload your testimony and complete the remaining submission fields.

We won’t back down and we won’t stop fighting. Not then, not now, not ever.

In solidarity,

Clementine and Kaitlin

Clementine Bannon is a member of the Class of 2026 and Kaitlin Weiss is a member of the Class of 2025.