Planned Parenthood Maine Action Fund PAC Endorses Raegan LaRochelle in State House Special Election
For Immediate Release: Oct. 6, 2021
Opportunity to take back a legislative seat from an anti-abortion politician
The Planned Parenthood Maine Action Fund PAC is endorsing Raegan LaRochelle of Augusta in the State House District 86 special election to be held next month.
“In the face of unprecedented abortion restrictions and a Supreme Court stacked against us, it’s up to all of us to elect leaders up and down the ballot who will fight to protect access to abortion,” said Nicole Clegg, spokesperson for the Planned Parenthood Maine Action Fund PAC. “Raegan LaRochelle will be a strong voice for her constituents, and all Mainers, against attempts to restrict or ban abortion, shame and judge abortion patients and providers, or push abortion out of reach entirely.”
For the first time ever, U.S. states enacted more than 100 abortion restrictions in a single year, including the draconian Texas abortion ban outlawing abortion at six weeks (before many people even know they are pregnant) and creating a vigilante bounty system for individuals to sue anyone helping a Texan obtain an abortion and collect $10,000.
Maine is not immune from these attacks: anti-abortion legislators introduced an unprecedented number of bills this year attacking abortion care in Maine. With a majority of legislators supportive of access to abortion, the House and Senate defeated all of the bills, but the makeup of the legislature could change with the next election -- giving anti-abortion politicians in Maine another chance to restrict or ban abortion as Texas has.
The Supreme Court failed to intervene to stop the Texas abortion ban and in December the court will hear arguments in the case Jackson Women’s Health v. Dobbs that could be used to reverse or further dismantle the legal right to an abortion guaranteed by Roe v. Wade.
“We can no longer count on the courts to protect the legal right to an abortion,” added Clegg. “These terrible laws like the Texas abortion ban begin in state legislatures. One of the best ways to ensure abortion remains accessible is to elect state legislative candidates like Raegan LaRochelle who will support access to abortion and vote out those who won’t.”
A recent Maine poll found that no matter respondents’ personal feelings about abortion, they want the experience of getting an abortion to be supportive (83%), affordable (79%), available in your community (79%), without added burdens (76%), and covered by insurance (70%).
The special election for state House District 86 will be held Tuesday, November 2. Voters in HD 86 can request an absentee ballot from the Secretary of State’s office or vote early in-person at their town offices during regular office hours.
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The Planned Parenthood Maine Action Fund Political Action Committee promotes and preserves a health care landscape and a political climate favorable to women’s health by working to identify and elect supportive candidates seeking executive and legislative offices. The PPMEAF PAC is operated by the Planned Parenthood Maine Action Fund, an independent, nonpartisan, not-for-profit membership organization formed as the advocacy and political arm of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England in Maine. The Action Fund engages in educational and electoral activity, including voter education, grassroots organizing, and legislative advocacy.