News & Commentary

March is Women’s History Month! We're celebrating some of our favorite champions, from Maine and away.

March is Women’s History Month! We're celebrating some of our favorite champions, from Maine and away.

Each Friday, we’ll bring you updates on the latest civil liberties news from Maine and the nation.

March is Women’s History Month! We're celebrating some of our favorite champions, from Maine and away.

March is Women’s History Month! We're celebrating some of our favorite champions, from Maine and away.

Earlier this week, both the Maine State Senate and House voted down LD 1428, a bill that would have authorized discrimination in the name of religion. The so-called "religious freedom" bill actually had little to do with religious freedom, which the ACLU of Maine has a long (and successful) history of defending, but would have created a gaping exemption to the Maine Human Rights Act. We testified against the bill last month, along side our partners in the Religious Coalition Against Discrimination, the LGBT Coalition, the Coalition for Maine Women, the Choice Coalition, and many more. You can read our testimony here.

New Hampshire  senate just passed a bill that would create a 25-foot buffer zone around abortion clinics. SB 319 passed 15 to 9, despite the fact that the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 3 to 2 to reject the bill. The bill had strong bipartisan support in the senate; this most likely contributed to the bill’s passage. The bill is now headed to to the house for a vote.

Each Friday, we’ll bring you updates on the latest civil liberties news from Maine and the nation.

Yesterday, the House voted to pass H.R. 7, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act. On it’s surface, the bill seems like a simple redundancy. The Hyde Amendment makes it illegal to use federal funds for abortion care. This restriction has been solidly in place for over 35 years. There’s been no budging on the Hyde Amendment. In fact, legislative measures are frequently introduced and passed to ensure that the Hyde Amendment can’t be circumvented. This particular Act would make permanent the federal funding restrictions put into place by the Hyde Amendment.