Maine residents ‘overwhelmed’ at prospect of becoming a 'transgender safe haven,' state lawmaker says
Maine Republican State Rep. Katrina Smith expresses concerns over a new push from state leaders to make the state a ‘transgender safe haven.’
Republicans and Democrats on Maine’s judiciary committee voted to kill a bill Thursday that would have allowed minors to travel from out of state to Maine to obtain gender-altering medical procedures and even take custody of minors in "emergency" situations.
Republicans called bill LD 1375 – or "An act to safeguard gender-affirming health care" – "dangerous," while the Democrats who originally supported it admitted the language of the bill needed reworking, according to a report by local outlet CBS-WGME.
Tossed on Thursday, the bill stipulated the state of Maine could allow minors restricted from gender-affirming care in their home state to travel to Maine to receive that care, which it noted includes "Interventions to align the patient's appearance or physical body with the patient's gender identity," and "Interventions to suppress the development of endogenous secondary sex characteristics."
SOME NEW HAMPSHIRE RESIDENTS WORRIED AS MAINE CONSIDERS ‘TRANS TOURISM’ BILL FOR CHILDREN
Lawmakers in Maine voted unanimously to kill a bill that would allow out-of-state minors to travel to Maine and get gender-altering operations. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)
Further language in the bill would have allowed the government to take "emergency jurisdiction" over any child who has been rendered "unable to obtain gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming mental health care" even by their siblings and parents.
"A court of this State has temporary emergency jurisdiction if the child is present in this State and the child has been abandoned or it is necessary in an emergency to protect the child because the child or a sibling or parent of the child is subjected to or threatened with mistreatment or abuse or because the child has been unable to obtain gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming mental health care," the bill's text stated.
Republican Maine State Sen. Lisa Keim told WGME that parents from "around the country have reached out to talk to us about this bill" and expressed their "angst" over it.
She added, "Parents shouldn’t have their rights threatened in this way, and this is a dangerous bill for children."
Critics of the proposed Maine bill claim it effectively allows the state to take children from parents blocking them from getting "gender-affirming care." (Michael Siluk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
State Rep. Rachel Henderson trashed the proposed bill as well, stating to the local media outlet, "This gives the state jurisdiction to effectively come into your home and take your kids based on a medical decision you made for the wellbeing and mental wellbeing of your child."
State Rep. Katrina J. Smith warned about the bill last week in a Fox News Channel interview, stating, "Maine is going to open the doors to this and open the door to kids who meet someone on TikTok, and they get the idea that they need this surgery or hormone replacement therapy, and they're going to grab a bus or someone is going to come pick them up and bring them to Maine and a parent is not going to do a thing about it."
The bill’s Democratic Party sponsor, Rep. Laurie Osher (D-Orno), expressed to WGME this was never the intent, but instead about giving the proper care to individuals.
She said, "That’s disrespectful to our care providers. Our care providers are trained, we have certification and licensing in Maine, and they only provide the care that’s needed for their patients."
Still, all those voting on the bill found it at fault. Republicans found it dangerous, while Democrats admitted that its language was flawed and needed to be altered.
Following the vote Thursday, Osher said, "We will make sure that people are protected that our care providers are protected. Today was a moment where we’re not getting that done, but we will get that done."
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Fox News Digital's Kristine Parks contributed to this report.