As a medical professional, my goal is to offer the best care I can for every one of my patients. I am proud to provide a range of essential medical care to anyone who comes to Planned Parenthood of Northern New England. This includes providing sexual health, reproductive and gender-affirming care for transgender and non-binary people.

At times, the care I provide can become politicized; multiple states around the country have moved to restrict or ban essential medical care. Maine’s “shield law” (L.D. 227), which takes effect this week, seeks to protect our state’s providers of reproductive care and care for transgender people from attacks from outside Maine’s borders. Despite this being a law about Maine’s ability to regulate health care within our own borders, opponents of safe, effective medical care chose to spread lies about the bill. They chose to spread lies about Maine’s current laws, about abortion care and about care for transgender people that are harmful to my practice and my patients.

Let’s be clear: gender-affirming care is essential, lifesaving care. It is age-appropriate, individualized and involves a skilled and trusted medical care team. This care is also legal in Maine.
In my 14 years of clinical experience, I have witnessed countless times the ways gender-affirming health care changed a patient’s life for the better and, in many cases, saved their life. I have personally treated patients who disclosed health struggles at the start of their care and who come back for follow up three months after starting hormone therapy reporting significant improvements in their overall wellbeing. And you don’t have to take my word for it. Every major medical association has endorsed gender-affirming health care, including age-appropriate health care for transgender young people.

As a clinician, it is my duty to provide my patients with the care they need, when they need it. And my ability to offer this care that is legal in my state hinges on whether my state’s laws protect me from attacks coming from other states. L.D. 227 represents Maine’s commitment to protect providers like me while dozens of other states have passed laws that ban reproductive and/or care for transgender people, and some have even sought to criminalize providers of this care.

Whether we like it or not, the reality is certain politicians and other extremists don’t believe anyone should have access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care including abortion care and gender-affirming care. But politicians are unqualified to make private medical decisions for my patients.

As a trained medical professional, I work with our patients to offer care that is best suited for them. Gender-affirming care looks different for each one of my patients. Some patients come to us for hormone prescriptions and others come to us because they need cervical cancer screening from a provider who respects their gender identity and uses their pronouns correctly. I listen to my patients, learn what their needs and hopes are, and offer them options and detailed, unbiased and medically sound information about what these choices entail. I provide care based on medical best practices and research, and I strive to guide my patients and their families with compassion, empathy and respect.

L.D. 227 is a law that meets this moment – and the near-constant political attacks that aim to ban or restrict safe, legal medical care on ideological, not scientific grounds – with policy that adds a layer of protection for providers. In protecting providers like me, this bill helps ensure patients can access this safe, legal medical care in Maine.

As a medical provider, I work tirelessly to ensure I have the tools and knowledge I need to continue doing my job effectively and safely. I love living and working in Maine and serving every patient who comes to me for care. I hope, through the support of policies like L.D. 227, I can continue doing so in this state for years to come.