News & Commentary

A woman’s right to have an abortion is under assault.  Take Arkansas and North Dakota, which recently passed two of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country.  Or Kansas, which is considering a similar law.  Or Texas and Alabama, which are pushing bills designed to force women's health centers to shut their doors.  The list goes on. Maine could very well be next if three anti-choice bills before the Maine legislature become law: LD 760 would force doctors to tell women unnecessary, coercive information before they could obtain an abortion. LD 1339 would repeal Maine’s successful adult involvement law and replace it with a law requiring physicians to obtain signed consent from a minor’s parent before she can obtain an abortion. LD 1193 seeks to convey legal status to a fetus, including granting the fetus legal rights to “heirs and an estate.” Today, a group of mothers and grandmothers from around the state were in Augusta to push back against this dangerous legislation. You can help as well.  Tell your legislators not to roll back abortion rights.  You can also call the Maine Senate at 1-800-423-6900 and the Maine House at 1-800-423-2900. If you aren't sure who your representatives are, click here to search. Remember, in the words of ACLU founder Roger Baldwin, "No fight for liberty ever stays won."

The title of this post is a quote from former FBI counterterrorism agent Tim Clemente, who made some eye-opening statements on CNN last week. According to columnist Glenn Greenwald, Clemente's statements indicate that all of our digital communications - including telephone calls, emails, online chats, etc. - are automatically recorded and stored and accessible to the government after the fact. According to Clemente, “All of that stuff is being captured as we speak whether we know it or like it or not."

It took awhile, but a Gay-Straight Alliance is coming to Carver Middle School.   Bayli Silberstein has been working to establish a GSA at her school in Florida since 2011. She wants to start the club to combat bullying at her school, but administrators have put up unnecessary (and unconstitutional) roadblocks at every corner. The school board even went so far as to propose a ban on all non-academic clubs for all middle schools in the county, just to stop Bayli from starting hers.   Frustrated by more than a year of inaction, Bayli and her mother reached out to the ACLU in January of this year. Later that month, the ACLU of Florida sent a letter to the school board explaining the legal right of the club to form as well as the benefits that a GSA would have for all students. When nothing changed, the ACLU organized an online petition and over 55,000 people from across the country signed, urging the school board to support Bayli’s effort to establish the GSA.   Even in spite of all the uproar, the board voted 4-1 last month to table a proposed club policy, effectively leaving their ban in place through the remainder of the school year. With it clear that the board was not going to give in, and with all other options exhausted, the ACLU of Florida took the only step it could.   On Wednesday, a lawsuit was filed against the school board on Bayli’s behalf. On Thursday, the board gave in and agreed to let Bayli have her club.   Thankfully, most school administrators don’t react this way to the prospect of a Gay-Straight Alliance, so legal action like this is rarely needed. However, Bayli is not the first student to face pushback when attempting to start a school club and she won’t be the last. Under the law, if a public high school allows students to form any non-curricular clubs at all, then it must allow students to form any non-curricular club they want, and it must treat them equally. This is why the school board’s denial of Bayli’s request wasn’t just a misguided decision; it was against the law.    If you're trying to start a GSA at your school and your administration tries to stop you, the ACLU has your back. Check out these helpful tips for starting a GSA at your school. It’s highly unlikely you’ll face the pushback that Bayli did, but thanks to her brave determination it’ll be even tougher for schools to say ‘no.’

Updated May 7. The following are public hearings and work sessions on bills of note for the week of May 6: May 7

Today I testified against three bills that would severely, and unconstitutionally, restrict welfare benefits for some of Maine's most vulnerable families. Two of the bills seek to limit the number of people who can receive state aid by creating unconstitutional residency requirements and automatically terminating benefits for anyone convicted of a drug crime. The third bill would allow random, suspicionless drug testing of public benefit recipients in violation of the Fourth Amendment.

It was a glorious Wednesday to be in Portland, and not just because of the sunny skies. With hundreds of Mainers taking to the streets to march in support of comprehensive immigration reform, this year’s March and Rally for Immigration Reform couldn’t have gone any better. After marching down Congress Street, the crowd assembled in the heart of downtown Portland to hear from speakers, musicians, and local activists. We heard immigrants tell stories of uprooted families and detention that lasted for months. We listened to drummers, singers, and poets. Dozens of organizations that helped sponsor the event – including the ACLU of Maine – spoke about the need for solidarity and a fair and inclusive roadmap to citizenship. The ACLU’s own Jill Barkley addressed the crowd as well, telling her personal story about the importance of protecting the rights of same-sex, bi-national couples. It was an exciting moment for Portland, but we were not alone. Folks from all over the state were on hand, and similar rallies have played out all over the country today. As many of the speakers noted, now is the time for immigration reform. So if you haven’t already contacted your representatives in Congress, now is the time! Follow this link and you can quickly send a message to Maine’s congressional delegation telling them to support comprehensive immigration reform that protects civil liberties. Here are a few pictures from the event:

It's not every day that the ACLU of Maine contributes to saving lives, but today we did.  We supported LD 1046, a bill that would allow for the administration of naloxone in cases of opiate overdose.  The testimony at the public hearing was poignant.  Kenneth Miller of the Maine Harm Reduction Alliance testified that drug overdose deaths in Maine more than doubled from 60 in 2000 to 167 in 2010.  Naloxone helps to prevent the overdose long enough for emergency treatment to be secured. 

Today, I spent an emotional afternoon in our Health and Human Services Committee room up in Augusta. Our legislators were listening patiently to several people who were testifying on LD 1065, "An Act Regarding Patient-directed Care at the End of Life".  This bill would allow a patient who is terminally ill to make decisions regarding the care she receives at the end of her life. Together with her physician or the medical director of the hospice care provider, the patient will sign documents that will carefully instruct the provision of health care she wishes to receive and the provision of care at the end of life.  The ACLU of Maine believes that each of us should have the right to die in a humane and dignified manner. The exercise of this right is central to personal autonomy and bodily integrity, and this includes refusal or termination of life-saving medical treatment. You'll hear about this bill in the media as an "assisted suicide" bill. Much of the testimony this afternoon focused on this point. Obviously, no one should be coerced into making decisions about their care at their most vulnerable time, when they are approaching certain death. But there is a difference between suicide and making the decision to hasten death when it is near and suffering is great. It is hard to know how any of us would handle the death of a loved one until we are in that moment ourselves. The subject of death and dying is intensely personal and even more intensely emotional. I often wish I will die a peaceful death in my sleep after a life well lived --- but my life thus far has included witnessing people I love die due to suicide, illness and old age. Hard as it is sometimes, I understand that we all make choices in life and in death that not everyone understands or accepts.  I was proud to deliver this testimony today to support this legislation's intent. 

Back in November, I wrote about the ACLU of Maine’s education program and our standing offer to visit any school to present on the Bill of Rights. “No matter where your school is in the state of Maine we’ll come and teach there,” I said. Lately we’ve been putting those words to action – and logging some serious miles in the process. Right now we’re up in Aroostook County, teaching students at Hodgdon High School, Houlton High School, and Fort Kent Middle School as part of a three-day trip. We’re talking about lots of important topics, including free speech in school, the rights you have when dealing with police, and the Equal Protection Clause and how it relates to Maine’s new anti-bullying law. So far the classes have been great, with students asking inquisitive questions and sharing thoughtful insights into the topics we’re presenting on.   Aroostook County hasn’t been our only venture into the rural parts of Maine, though. Over the past two weeks we made a pair of visits to Piscataquis County, speaking with students at Greenville High School and Foxcroft Academy. Earlier this month we made trips to Searsport, New Gloucester, York, and Scarborough. Next month we’ll be heading to Machias, Skowhegan, Readfield, just to name a few.   Even with all these miles logged (nearly 2,000 in March alone!) our offer still stands: No matter where your school is in the state of Maine, we’ll come and teach there. Send me an e-mail at [email protected] or call our office at 774-5444 to find out more or to schedule a visit.