Despite efforts to downplay issue, LePage has long history of opposing abortion rights

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade, Republican gubernatorial candidate Paul LePage said, “I don’t have time for abortion” when asked Tuesday whether he would move to ban or curb reproductive rights in Maine if elected. 

However, as governor, LePage made time each year to attend and sometimes speak at Maine Right to Life’s “Hands Around the Capitol” rally protesting abortion rights, raising concerns that reproductive health care could be at risk if the Republican is elected in November with a GOP majority in the state legislature. 

As governor, LePage said he attended the rally each year — which was organized to “publicly recognize and mourn” the 1973 Supreme Court decision that had until Friday’s reversal enshrined abortion rights into federal law — because “more people are dying than being born, so it’s time to have an opportunity to keep them alive.”

“We should not have abortion,” LePage said in 2016.  

On Tuesday, though, LePage — who has received support in his current run for office from a member of the avowedly anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ Christian Civic League — tried to downplay the topic altogether when asked about the Roe decision. He claimed that he would focus on other issues, such as the economy and law enforcement, and wouldn’t have the opportunity to change the state’s abortion laws. 

In Maine, abortion is still legal after the Supreme Court ruling, as reproductive health rights were codified into state law in 1993 in a bill signed by a Republican governor. Abortion in Maine is allowed before fetal viability, which is typically around 24 weeks, but there are exceptions permitted past that date if an individual’s life is in danger.

LePage said Tuesday that he wouldn’t spearhead any attempts to curb abortion in Maine. However, the former governor did not commit to vetoing any anti-abortion bills that make it to his desk. 

During the 2021 legislative session, Maine Republican lawmakers introduced an “unprecedented” number of anti-abortion bills. Democratic majorities in the State House and the certainty of a veto by Gov. Janet Mills, a supporter of abortion, prevented those bills from moving forward. However, if the GOP takes control of the state legislature after November’s election, it’s likely such measures would be put forward again, particularly if an abortion opponent like LePage is in the Blaine House. 

LePage added Tuesday that he would consider restricting abortion access earlier in a pregnancy “if medical science could keep that baby alive” and also claimed that Democrats want to “kill babies all day long.” 

He further argued that abortion only effects “few” in Maine. But as James Myall of the Maine Center for Economic Policy pointed out, around 270,000 Mainers have the ability to become pregnant, making abortion care an essential issue for many people across the state. 

Before Tuesday, LePage had dropped additional hints that he would be an anti-abortion governor if elected. For example, when the draft version of the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe leaked in May, LePage released a statement saying he supports prohibiting federal “taxpayer abortion funding except in cases of rape, incest or when the mother’s life is in danger.”

“Governor’s receive legislation on their desk from locally elected state representatives and state senators. In Maine, our local officials listen to the people. As governor I have a proven history of supporting life, including helping our most vulnerable women and children facing domestic abuse to our vulnerable senior citizens,” LePage added, signaling that abortion rights in Maine could be at serious risk if he is elected along with a Republican legislature.

Furthermore, the Maine GOP platform calls for banning abortion, a stance out of step with the views of the majority of voters in the state. LePage spoke at the convention earlier this year where that platform was finalized.  

As governor, LePage also took stances against making abortion access easier, such as opposing allowing the state’s Medicaid program to cover the cost of an abortion. In 2019, after LePage left office, Mills signed a law requiring public and private insurance that cover prenatal care to also cover abortion costs. 

Furthermore, as governor, LePage supported a budget plan to cut more than $400,000 from family planning services.  

“Paul LePage is hostile to abortion rights as are a number of Maine politicians,” warned Nicole Clegg of Planned Parenthood Maine Action Fund after Friday’s ruling. “If a majority of anti-abortion politicians take control of the legislature or the Blaine House, they could pass laws restricting or even banning abortion here in Maine.”

“Paul LePage could not make it any more obvious that he does not care about the reproductive freedoms of Maine people,” added Bev Uhlenhake, vice chair of the Maine Democratic Party. “When he was governor, he fought against abortion rights in our state. Now, with Roe overturned and a procession of abortion opponents behind him, we know he won’t turn down the chance to ban abortion. We cannot let someone so wildly out of touch with our state on reproductive rights back in the Blaine House.”

Photo: Paul LePage speaks to the media in February | Beacon