Planned Parenthood’s local political arm endorsed Democratic candidate Hannah Pingree on Wednesday, saying she is the only candidate in the gubernatorial race who would expand abortion rights while arguing her Republican and independent opponents cannot be trusted to protect them.
At a press conference announcing the support of the Planned Parenthood Maine Action Fund PAC, President and CEO Nicole Clegg said, “there is too much at stake for the people of Maine this November.”
“There is only one person we can trust to lead our state, to protect our rights, and safeguard access to basic, essential, life-saving healthcare, and that is Hannah Pingree,” she added.
The endorsement also underscored one of the clearest policy divides in the race. While Pingree has pledged to expand abortion protections, Republican Bobby Charles has described abortion as “abhorrent.“ Rick Bennett, a Maine senator and former head of the Maine Republican Party who withdrew from the GOP last year to run as an independent, said he supports preserving Maine’s existing abortion laws, but Planned Parenthood said his voting record in state government proves otherwise.
Maine is among the roughly 26 states that have protected or expanded access to abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade four years ago. The next governor will determine whether that support continues.
Since 2022, outgoing Democratic Gov. Janet Mills has passed shield laws that protect abortion providers, required health insurance companies to cover abortion care and added at least $8 million in state funding for reproductive health care providers including Planned Parenthood.
“As governor, Hannah will continue to build on that work,” Clegg said. “She’ll be a foil to whatever Trump and Republicans in Congress throw at us.”
If elected, Pingree said she would enshrine the right to abortion in the Maine Constitution, protect access to abortion medication, including mifepristone, and ensure ongoing funding for reproductive health care providers.
She also spoke about the attacks on reproductive health care by President Donald Trump’s administration, including banning Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers from receiving Medicaid reimbursements and cutting access to contraceptives.
“When Washington D.C. and the federal government come for our rights, the states are the line of defense, and governors are truly the firewall,” Pingree said at the Planned Parenthood office in Portland on Wednesday. “A governor has to stand up and say, ’not in my state, and not while I am in charge.’”
Pingree also criticized her opponents, calling Charles an “anti-abortion extremist” and highlighting Bennett’s past votes against funding family planning services and enshrining abortion protections in Maine’s constitution. Clegg agreed, adding that she believes Charles would do “everything in his power to take access away.”
“And given the fact that we don’t have Roe v. Wade anymore, that’s gotten a lot easier for governors to do,” she said.
Both Charles and Bennett pushed back on Pingree and Clegg’s attacks.
“Hannah Pingree has failed Maine women and families,” Charles said in a statement provided to Maine Morning Star. When asked if he would protect or overturn Maine’s existing reproductive rights laws, he said he would “uphold any existing state and federal laws as Governor.” In the March interview with News Center Maine when Charles condemned abortion, he did not specify any changes he would make to current Maine laws, although he said he supported the Supreme Court decision ending the federal right to abortion.
Bennett, who has served in both chambers of the Maine Legislature on and off since 1990, said in an emailed statement that he has “always supported a woman’s right to choose.”
He cited a bill he cosponsored three decades ago that would have codified Roe v. Wade in Maine law, as well as his 92% rating from Planned Parenthood Maine Action Fund last year, which he said reflected his support for reproductive health access. However, the organization gave Bennett a 38% rating during the 2023-24 legislative session because of his votes against bills that would have enshrined the right to reproductive autonomy in the Maine Constitution, protected reproductive care providers in Maine from prosecution under other states’ laws, mandated insurance coverage of contraceptives and established state funding for family planning services, among others.
Asked about that score, Bennett said in an emailed statement that while it “reflected a particular set of votes at a particular time, my core belief has remained the same: I trust women, I support reproductive freedom, and as Governor, I will defend Maine’s protections.”
Addressing his varying support for the issue over the years, Clegg said, “You can certainly cherry pick votes if you want to present a particular position or give people an impression that you’ve been a lifelong supporter of reproductive rights or Planned Parenthood.” She added, “We know Rick Bennett’s voting record over his career doesn’t support that.”
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.