A voting record that speaks for itself

To say that Maine has made significant progress in reducing the incidence of teen pregnancy and too-early parenting would be a public health understatement of extravagant proportions.

Earlier this summer, the Maine Children’s Alliance reported that Maine has the fourth lowest birthrate in the nation among teens ages 15 to 19. From 1989 to 2003, according the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Maine experienced a 44 percent drop in its pregnancy rate among teens aged 15 to 19.

Maine is advancing in other areas of reproductive health as well. For the period 1996-2000, Maine achieved a 37 percent decrease in the number of abortions sought by women. In 2003, the state was recognized for the excellence of its comprehensive human sexuality education program by the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States.

Once ranked among the nation’s worst for preventing teen pregnancy, Maine now rates as a public health success story of the very first order.

The example Maine sets for other states finds its source in the willingness of the state’s voters to return, year after year, a pro-family planning Legislature backed up – and sometimes led – by strong governors willing to defend what has become a controversial public health service.

Democratic Gov. Joe Brennan launched Maine’s Teen Pregnancy Prevention Commission, whose recommendations helped pave the way for state funding of vital family planning services. Republican Gov. John McKernan stood against his national party, ready to increase state spending on family planning when President George H. W. Bush threatened to impose the notorious Gag Rule, forbidding family planners from talking to pregnant women who asked for information about abortion.

Independent Gov. Angus King endorsed and signed a bill defining in state law the meaning of comprehensive human sexuality education, providing a touchstone for future education commissioners to rely on when challenged by proponents of unproven abstinence-only-until- marriage education programs.

And current Gov. John Baldacci rejected – during a difficult budget cycle – what has become known as “abstinence-only” funding because to accept the funds would have meant censoring vital information from young people about contraception – how various methods work and how to access them.

As we enter the last three months of the 2006 gubernatorial election, one candidate stands head and shoulders above all others in his opposition to the progress our state has made in protecting the health of Maine women and teens. State Sen. Chandler Woodcock, the Republican gubernatorial nominee, has been reported as saying that he will not allow his personal beliefs, which he admits are conservative, to influence his policymaking.

Sen. Woodcock’s voting record in the Maine Senate suggests otherwise. Indeed, his record in the 121st Legislature earned him a 100 percent “pro-life” rating by the Maine Right to Life Committee.

In the 120th Legislature, Sen. Woodcock voted against An Act to Expand Family Life Education in Maine Schools. This law allows abstinence to be taught alongside contraception, and expands the family planning statute to include education as an important component for the prevention of unintended pregnancy.

Also in the 120th Legislature Sen. Woodcock supported An Act to Ban Partial Birth Abortion in the Third Trimester Except to Save the Life of the Mother. This bill sought to ban so-called partial birth abortions and would have removed the “health” exception that protects women from permanent disability or lifelong injury. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled the omission unconstitutional.

On An Act to Require Parental Notification of Abortion, Sen. Woodcock voted with the minority to repeal Maine’s model Adult Involvement Law, replacing it with restrictions for women under 18 years of age seeking an abortion. This bill would have required abused minors to document their abuse in court.

On An Act to Amend the Abortion Consent Laws, Sen. Woodcock voted with the minority to impose a 24-hour waiting period for any woman exercising her reproductive rights by choosing abortion and mandate that a woman receive state-scripted counseling regarding the risks of abortion.

As avuncular and congenial as he sometimes seems, as reassuring as he sounds when talking about the separation of personal belief from matters of state, Chandler Woodcock’s voting record speaks for itself and suggests that, if elected, his term as governor would be a setback to the health and well-being of Maine women and teens.

George A. Hill is executive director of the Family Planning Action Fund of Maine.