An abortion opponent, right, debates with abortion-rights protesters outside the west entrance of the Maine State House on Friday. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

AUGUSTA — Maine lawmakers heard hours of testimony Friday on a group of bills that would restrict abortion access, including a proposal that would roll back a 2023 law allowing abortion later in pregnancy.

The proposals, all sponsored by Republicans, are unlikely to succeed in the Democratic-controlled Legislature, but they reflect the continuing political tension and debate around abortion that has followed the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022.

That tension was on display from the start of Friday’s public hearing before the Judiciary Committee when the sponsor of a bill that would repeal laws allowing abortion in Maine notified the committee she was recommending it should not pass, and the committee voted against it. The sponsor said she was concerned it would have unintended consequences for pregnant women.

Several people who had come to support the bill then said they were disappointed to hear it had been defeated without a hearing.

“I would like to ask this committee why it wants to kill the children of this state,” said Josh Whitney, a Pittston resident who had come to testify in support of the bill, LD 975.

“I am incredibly disappointed to hear that this bill was pulled from this committee,” Whitney said.

Sen. Anne Carney, D-Cape Elizabeth, the committee co-chair, told Whitney and others that because the bill was no longer in front of the committee, they would have to keep their testimony focused on the other bills being heard.

After the committee took a brief recess, Carney said the committee would hear testimony in support of LD 975 after all because several people had come to testify on it not knowing the sponsor was requesting it not pass.

One man from Louisiana said he had traveled from New Orleans to testify in support of the bill, which he said is needed in every state.

“The difference between 975 and the other six bills is it seeks to actually criminalize abortion, not trim around the edges and say, ‘You can’t flush the dead baby down the toilet anymore,'” said Brian Gunter. “Rather, we’re concerned that you don’t kill the baby to begin with.”

Rep. Abigail Griffin, R-Levant, introduces LD 886, An Act to Regulate Medication Abortions, before the Judiciary Committee at the Maine State House on Friday. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Rep. Abigail Griffin, R-Levant, the bill’s sponsor, said she is against abortion but asked the committee to reject the bill after hearing concerns it would criminalize women. The bill also redefines the definitions of “human” and “person” in Maine’s criminal code to state that life begins at the moment of conception.

“The whole purpose of me putting the bill in was to protect the unborn and let women know there are other options,” Griffin said. “But there were people who were uncomfortable and said it would criminalize women.”

In testimony against the bill, the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine said it would “criminalize abortion and miscarriage care by equating a fetus to a person and criminalizing all actions related to abortion care the same as a violent crime against another person.”

Barbara Cray, an opponent of the bill, said she was happy it was rejected by the committee but was still upset it had been proposed at all.

“This is a cruel bill,” Cray said. “It’s meant to control women and deprive them of their rights and create a police state against women. … I’m glad it was withdrawn, but this did serious damage.”

Before Friday’s hearing started, a handful of abortion opponents protested outside the State House with signs that read, “Stand up for the voiceless” and “This is not healthcare. It’s murder.” A few dozen counterprotesters chanted, “My body. My choice” and carried their own signs nearby.

Rep. Reagan Paul, R-Winterport, introduces bills to regulate abortion. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Inside, supporters of the bills painted them as commonsense measures that would provide additional information and options for women. They said medication abortion needs to be more strictly regulated and spoke against abortion generally, calling it murder.

“These bills share a common theme: an inherent respect for the life and dignity of the mother and her unborn child,” Holly Lusk, an attorney representing the Christian Civic League of Maine, said in testimony supporting the six bills that were heard.

Opponents of the bills said they put up barriers for women to get abortions and infringe on their rights to make their own health care choices. They said abortion is safe and that restrictions can lead to harmful economic and health outcomes for women.

“Access to abortion is essential to protect Mainers’ agency, autonomy and dignity,” said Lisa Margulies, vice president of public affairs in Maine for Planned Parenthood of Northern New England. “These bills are dangerous to Maine people.”

The proposals include LD 682, which rolls back a change Maine made in 2023 to allow abortion later in pregnancy if it is deemed necessary by a licensed physician.

The bill says instead that an abortion could be performed after viability only when it is medically necessary to preserve the life or health of the mother or when the fetus is diagnosed with a life-threatening condition and would die soon after birth.

Viability is the point when a prematurely born baby could live outside the womb, typically considered to be 22 to 24 weeks.

Sen. David Haggan, R-Hampden, the bill’s sponsor, said he sympathizes with Dana Pierce, a Yarmouth woman who inspired the law passed in 2023 after she had to travel to Colorado for an abortion when she found out at 32 weeks that her unborn son had a deadly genetic mutation.

But Haggan said the law that was passed is “overly permissive.”

“My bill is probably the most modest of all bills you will hear today,” he told the committee. “It only repeals the extreme language of LD 1619 and will continue to protect the rights of women and families in this tragic situation.”

Health care providers, including the directors of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the Maine Public Health Association, testified against LD 682.

“Current law takes into account the professional judgment of health care professionals authorized to perform the abortion,” Dr. Puthiery Va, director of the Maine CDC, said in written testimony. “This would be removed by this bill inserting specific standards for women’s health care, restricting medical choices and decision making.”

Other proposals would repeal the requirement that the state cover abortion services for MaineCare recipients and would restrict access to medication abortion. One proposal, LD 886, would prohibit the online purchase of medications to perform abortions and would require a woman opting for a medication abortion to have it overseen in person by a health care professional.

Another, LD 887, would require a health care provider to conduct a physical exam and be present in person for a medication abortion.

Two bills sponsored by Rep. Reagan Paul, R-Winterport,  LD 1007 and LD 1154, would require providers to inform patients about specific options, including the possibility of reversing abortion medications if a woman quickly changes her mind and supportive care in cases of a fetus diagnosed with a life-threatening condition.

The Maine CDC testified that treatment to reverse the effects of abortion medications may not be safe and effective.

And committee members raised questions about whether providers are already talking to patients about supportive care options.

“I’m not saying it’s not being offered, but this would just make sure 100%, it’s always offered,” said Paul.