Liberal abortion supporters hold the majority in both houses of the legislature in Maine, which is why a bill for abortion on demand up to birth sailed through passage and to the governor's desk. Democratic Governor Janet Mills signed it into law on Wednesday, stating "like every other health care procedure, we've got to take government out of the decision-making process and put the doctor and the patient in charge."
National Right to Life criticized the new law on Wednesday, with President Carol Tobias calling it "open season on the unborn child in Maine."
Republican State Representative Laurel Libby tells AFN the bill – which she has described as "one of the most extreme and permissive abortion laws in the entire country" – did not have popular support with the public.
"There was a remarkably historic public hearing when we had over 675 people turn out in person to sign up to testify against this bill," she explains. "At the same time there were 45 people who signed up and came in person to testify for it."
The Christian lawmaker argues that's an indication of where public sentiment was on the bill, which authorizes killing late-term babies.
Libby – a mother of five who is in her second two-year term in the Maine House – says the real need is to replace members of the legislature who did not represent their constituents.
"[They] didn't vote their values and instead voted for what Planned Parenthood dictated what they should vote for because, after all, they paid for their elections last year," she states. "So, we need to boot out those legislators who refused to listen to their constituents and bring in new legislators who are willing to listen to 'we the people' and do their will instead of [the will of] Planned Parenthood."
The law goes into effect 90 days after the state legislature's work wraps up, as soon as next week.
