Maine’s legislature has killed a bill that would have allowed the state to take custody of children who are unable to get transgender medical services.
On Thursday, Maine’s joint Judiciary Committee voted 12-0 against advancing the “Act to Safeguard Gender-affirming Health Care” or LD 1735, meaning the bill is dead and will not get a vote on the House or Senate floor.
The bill would have allowed the state to take emergency temporary custody of children who want but are unable to obtain transgender medical services, including genital surgery, puberty blockers, and cross-sex hormone therapy.
Law enforcement would also be prohibited under the bill from arresting or extraditing a person based on a warrant from another state that has laws against transgender medical interventions for children.
Courts would also be barred from considering the abduction of a child from a parent “if the taking or retention was for obtaining gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming or gender-affirming mental health care.”
Republicans expressed serious concerns with the bill before the committee vote, some arguing that the bill would allow out-of-state children to come to Maine to receive transgender medical interventions without parental consent.
“The angst that the parents from around the country have reached out to talk to us about this bill, that should’ve never come to be,” said state Senator Lisa Keim, a Republican. “Parents shouldn’t have their rights threatened in this way, and this is a dangerous bill for children.”
“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,” said state Representative Rachel Henderson, also a Republican.
The bill’s main sponsor is state Representative Laurie Osher, a Democrat and the leader of the legislature’s LGBT Equality Caucus, and it garnered support from at least six other lawmakers.
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Osher said Thursday that she will continue to fight for people who want transgender medical interventions.
“We will make sure that people are protected, that our care providers are protected,” Osher said. “Today was a moment where we’re not getting that done, but we will get that done.”
Earlier this month, the bill prompted backlash online, including from several prominent conservative figures.
“This is SICK! Bombard them with emails. This cannot pass,” journalist Megyn Kelly posted on X.
“Demonic,” wrote Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch.
This is SICK! Bombard them with emails. This cannot pass https://t.co/Is2fmPhC86
— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) January 17, 2024
State Senator Eric Brakey, a Republican, told the committee before the vote that he believes that “there are certain lines that I think need to be respected as far as the authority of the family vs. the authority of the state.”
“I feel like this legislation takes a great leap over that line, potentially empowering the state to even take custody of minors in a way that does not feel appropriate to me,” Brakey said.
State Representative Matthew Moonen, a Democrat, initially sponsored the bill and said during the hearing that it has “certainly gotten a lot of attention.” Ultimately, however, Moonen said the bill’s language is “not needed” and voted against advancing it.
Other Democrats who previously supported the bill backed down and voted no as well.
After the vote to kill the bill, the several people attending the hearing erupted into applause, prompting a scolding from the committee’s chairwoman.
The Minnesota bill is somewhat similar to a 2022 California law that made the state a “sanctuary” for child transgender medical interventions.
Among other things, the California law restricts officials and health providers from cooperating with out-of-state attempts to stop a child from getting transgender medical interventions.