Sen. Daughtry earns perfect score for voting record to protect reproductive rights

AUGUSTA – Sen. Mattie Daughtry, D-Brunswick, earned a perfect score from Planned Parenthood Maine for protecting reproductive rights and access to health care for Mainers. Sen. Daughtry is one of 22 senators to earn a perfect score for their 2021 voting record from Planned Parenthood Maine.

“As a woman, the issue of abortion is incredibly personal to me,” said Sen. Daughtry. “Nearly 1 in 4 women will have an abortion before 45, which we can all say, knowingly or not, that we love someone who has had an abortion. People should be able to control their own bodies, which includes respecting and honoring someone’s choice to have an abortion. All forms of reproductive health care should be free, accessible and safe, because creating barriers puts peoples’ lives at risk. Abortion access is a matter of reproductive justice. I will always stand up for abortion access.”  

Planned Parenthood scored Maine legislators on their votes on six bills that sought to undermine access to abortion in the state. One of the proposals rejected by lawmakers advocated for a practice considered by health care professionals to be medically dangerous and, in some cases, life-threatening to the patient.

Sen. Daughtry is a staunch supporter of abortion rights here in Maine. She voted down legislation that would allow medical facilities to provide misleading information about abortion, take away MaineCare coverage of abortion or create bureaucratic delays for patients seeking abortion care that could patients’ lives at risk. Sen. Daughtry also voted down harmful legislation that would have required the mandatory burial of fetal tissue following a miscarriage or abortion, which can be incredibly emotionally damaging for families.

At the beginning of October, Sen. Daughtry spoke in support of affirming abortion access at the Abortion Rally in Brunswick alongside other local officials and reproductive justice advocates. She spoke about her personal experience assisting loved ones access abortion care and how accessing an abortion is critical for individuals’ health.

Despite overwhelming public support for abortion access across the country, states enacted more than 100 abortion restrictions in a single year, including the draconian Texas abortion ban. Although Maine Legislature debated similar proposal, state lawmakers stood together to reject harmful proposals and protect Mainers’ access to abortion and reproductive health care.

Planned Parenthood provides reproductive and other health care services, including abortion care, immunizations and cancer screenings.

The complete Maine Senate legislative scorecard can be found here.

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