Maine GOP lawmaker sounds alarm on 'sanctuary state' proposal for abortions and sex changes

Maine's Republican Senate Minority Leader, Trey Stewart, is sounding the alarm on a bill moving through the state's legislature that would make it a sanctuary state for abortion and gender-transition procedures for minors.

Stewart told Fox News Digital in an interview that the bill "would completely usurp parental rights for folks that are in different states across the country, making Maine a sanctuary state."

"So if a minor child was coming to or being brought by a noncustodial parent to Maine for the purpose of abortion or sex-change surgery, there's nothing that law enforcement can do to stop them," Stewart said. "And it is a completely radical and crazy idea." 

MAINE CONSIDERS BILL THAT WOULD ESTABLISH 'LEGAL RIGHT' TO ABORTION, TRANSGENDER SURGICAL PROCEDURES

North Dakota's previous restrictions on abortion were challenged in court by what was formerly the state's only abortion clinic. Pictured is an abortion clinic in Idaho. (Darin Oswald/Idaho Statesman/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

The bill, known as LD 227, is currently being considered in health committee hearings and would establish "a legal right" to abortion and surgical sex changes. It would also block clinicians who carry out the procedures from facing legal penalties. 

It would also prohibit "interference" with abortion or sex change procedures, legally protect medical workers from facing lawsuits, and could potentially permit concealment of medical records from plaintiffs seeking legal action against a provider. 

Republicans opposing the bill caution that it might inadvertently allow for the so-called "kidnapping" of adolescents in states that have tougher restrictions to undergo these procedures if they are taken across state borders to Maine. Several Republicans in the legislature are concerned the 21-page bill includes a loophole for kids seeking these procedures to get a ride from someone else other than their parents if they do not approve of the child's decision.

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Maine State. Sen. Trey Stewart (Fox News Digital)

Stewart emphasized that the bill is problematic because "it is about children," and not adults who are entitled to making their own decisions. 

"There's nothing that law enforcement can do to stop them, which is why you see so many attorneys general across the country concerned about how far this bill goes," he said. 

A group of 16 attorneys general, led by Tennessee’s Jonathan Skrmetti, sent a letter this month to Gov. Janet Mills, Attorney General Aaron Frey, and state legislature leadership, calling the bill a "novel effort at state-sanctioned culture war litigation tourism."

LD 227 would reportedly form a liability shield to anyone aiding or offering unlawful services to out-of-state citizens. It would also create a private right of action for damages against law enforcement, prosecutors and other officials in states that are enforcing their respective state laws – even laws whose constitutionality has been confirmed by federal appellate courts. 

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Protesters of Kentucky Senate Bill SB150, known as the Transgender Health Bill, cheer on speakers during a rally on the lawn of the Kentucky Capitol in Frankfort, Kentucky, March 29, 2023.  (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

"Why should folks care about Maine? Because we're becoming a liberal bastion for bad ideas that are then going to impact other states," he said.

There are currently at least 23 states that restrict or ban transgender surgical procedures for minors. Proponents of the bill in Maine, including Planned Parenthood, argue that it will provide much needed protection for medical providers in the state.

While it’s "extremely unusual" for states to interject themselves into another state’s lawmaking, the AGs said LD 227’s "unique constitutional transgressions" merit their comment. 

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Patience Crozier, a director for the LGBTQ+ Legal Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) organization, suggested that restrictive laws in other states against the procedures are "really horrible attacks on transgender people."

"I think, in Maine, where reproductive and transgender health care is legal, this bill is really important to state the values of Maine and make sure that we're protecting our providers from those attacks from other states," Crozier said at a recent hearing about the bill.

Fox News' Brianna Herlihy contributed to this report.