Democrats vote down oversight bill after being shown abortion clinic failing to comply with state law

Augusta – Wednesday afternoon, Democrats on the Judiciary Committee voted in favor of allowing Maine’s abortion clinics to continue to operate without a license and with no oversight despite being presented with evidence that one of Maine’s largest abortion provider has been breaking the law.

The committee voted 7-5 Ought not to Pass on LD 1312 An Act To License Outpatient Surgical Abortion Facilities, sponsored by Rep. Deb Sanderson of Chelsea. The vote went down party lines with all 5 Republicans voting to support the bill that would provide much-needed oversight over Maine’s abortion clinics.

At the May 13th public hearing, the committee members learned that the statistics showing abortion totals in Maine were incomplete. By law, abortion clinics are required to report the total number of abortions they perform annually to the Maine CDC. During the public hearing, one of the leading pro-abortion lobbyists blamed the Maine CDC for the incomplete numbers saying the CDC lost the data.

Since the May 13th public hearing, new information emerged indicating that testimony was untrue and further illustrated the need for more oversight. Rep. Sanderson received the information in a letter from the Maine CDC that was eye-opening and Wednesday she presented that information to the committee.

From the CDC letter:

“The Maine CDC has not lost info regarding abortion statistics. The Maine CDC has repeatedly attempted to secure the 2012 abortion statistics from a large (anonymous) abortion provider, to no avail. The abortion provider has not complied with the CDC’s multiple attempts (at least 6) to secure the info which the abortion provider is required by law to provide to the CDC.”

Even after the Maine Attorney General’s office got involved and sent this abortion provider a letter demanding the data by a certain date the provider still would not provide the data. That compliance date has come and gone and still nothing.

“What else are these facilities hiding? This is a facility that is screaming for additional oversight,” said Rep. Sanderson. “I urge all legislators to do the right thing and make sure these abortion clinics are playing by the same rules as every other outpatient surgical facility. A vote against LD 1312 is not only condoning their reckless and brazen behavior but it’s a vote against women’s safety.”

Despite being presented with this information, Democrats still voted against the bill citing as one of their reasons that the bill is “very dangerous.”

“In the world Democrats want us to live in, a 15-year-old girl could wander into an unlicensed and unregulated facility that has thumbed their nose at state law; have an invasive and potentially life-altering and dangerous procedure without talking to their parents. But that same 15-year-old girl shouldn’t be able to go tanning,” Sanderson said.

The bill will next head to the House floor for a debate where Democrats will have one last chance to do the right thing for women’s safety.