I want to thank our elected representatives and Gov. Mills for supporting the new law that allows a doctor to decide when ending a woman’s pregnancy past viability is necessary. The bill was introduced because of the horrific personal experience of Dana Peirce of Yarmouth. Peirce had to leave the state to obtain an abortion that her doctor agreed was the right option for the family; she could not legally do so in her home state.

The trope of “abortion until birth” is just that: a party line used to excite the base of those opposed to abortion under any circumstances.

This kind of reasoning discounts the autonomy of a woman and her right to make medical decisions in concert with her doctor. Women are not children, and the state has no right to make such incredibly hard and painful decisions like this woman encountered and hamstring doctors in carrying out their job in caring for a patient.

This vote to pass this legislation represents my perspective on abortion rights and those of many in the state. I am a parent and a grandparent, who has worked in reproductive health and women’s rights and knows personally the individual stories and difficult decisions women often must make.

Bonnie Ginger
Boothbay