GRR!’s Spring 2024 Legislative Roundup.

June 12, 2024

What We’ve Been Up To at the State House

(And Why We’ll Keep Showing Up)!

GRR!s in Maine were busier than ever this session, testifying and galvanizing folks to show up at the State House to educate and lobby their lawmakers. Reproductive justice reaches into every other legislative issue you can imagine–racial justice, economic and food justice, access to health care within one’s own community, etc.–and GRR!’s advocacy will always reflect the interconnected nature of our movements.

Some of Our Legislative Wins (So Far!) in 2024

  • On January 1st, LD 935 went into effect! The law ensures that costs related to abortion care aren’t passed on to Maine patients by an insurance carrier. Before the passage of this law, the application of a deductible or co-pay often forced Mainers with health insurance to pay between $500-$1000 for their care. 
  •  In March, we were proud to submit our testimony in support of LD 2007, a bill that would establish that the Passamaquoddy Tribe, the Penobscot Nation, the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, and the Mi’kamq Nation have the same rights to self-determination as other federally recognized tribes within the United States.
  • GRR!s from all over the state came through Augusta and rallied their community members in support of LD 227, which will protect Maine health care providers from prosecution under OTHER states’ laws! The anti-abortion and transphobic opposition to this bill would see Maine clinicians punished for providing the health care that is perfectly legal in our state–not to mention perfectly safe, and often life-saving for Mainers!– we showed up BIG to thank and encourage the legislators who faced unacceptable harassment and violent threats for doing their jobs. And on April 22nd, Governor Janet Mills signed this bill into law!
  • We testified in support of LD 2203, requiring health insurance companies to provide Mainers with coverage for over-the-counter nonprescription oral hormonal contraceptives, and OTC nonprescription emergency contraceptives–beginning January 1, 2025! This is a huge win for the many, many Mainers who will need to access these incredibly safe medications over the course of their reproductive lives.

Why We’ll Keep Fighting

  • GRR! will not forget that Mainers were denied a voice and the chance to vote on LD 780 – a matter of amending our state constitution to protect the reproductive autonomy of the citizens it governs – when the bill failed reenactment. That the extraordinarily moving testimony of Lisa (and so many others like her) did not make this amendment a guaranteed victory is a shameful reminder of how far we have yet to come in Maine.

But losses like these won’t stop or slow us down. Our own Elayne Richard expressed it perfectly:

And as we look toward the wins we are working toward, exciting changes are afoot at GRR!.
While we strategize, organize, and make our plans to keep fighting–in the halls of our legislatures, on the streets and sidewalks of our communities, and wherever different generations gather to free us all, we have some exciting news:
We’re Hiring an Executive Director!

Learn about the position on our blog, spread the word far and wide, and apply here!

We’ll keep fighting, side-by-side, together!

Want to know more? Check out these articles