State House
King Middle School bill dead for the year
By Michael S. Heath
Jan 24, 2008 - 2:58:30 PM

Legislative Council Chambers this afternoon

I sat in the Legislative Council chambers this afternoon praying for a miracle.  One of our board members sent me an email this morning in which she wrote, "Please pray today that in fairness, the Legislative Council will agree to move this bill forward to be heard by the whole Legislature."  I prayed.

The King Middle School decided last fall to provide contraceptives to children under the age of 14 through their school-based health clinic.  The decision was criticized internationally.

Motivated by his concern over the developments in Portland Senator Douglas Smith, R-Piscatiquis, introduced an after-deadline bill entitled, "An Act to Protect the Rights of Parents to Know of and Consent to Prescription Contraceptive Services Provided to their Children."  The Legislative Council took up the after deadline proposal today at their regularly scheduled 1 p.m. meeting.

Christians were alerted to pray by Christian groups, churches and activists.

Representatives from the Roman Catholic Chancery in Portland were present working on the bill, as was I.

A tabling motion, introduced by Senator Carol Weston, R-Waldo, was unanimously approved by the council.  Senator John Martin, D-Aroostook, was not in the room at the time.

Senator Weston's intention was to table the bill until the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Council.  Other members of the Council insisted on taking the bill off the table and voting on it.  The bill needed six votes to make it in after deadline.

The Council was forced to wait ten minutes until Senator Doug Smith could be summoned from another committee meeting.  Senator Smith spoke briefly in support of his bill and asked if the Council required that he speak to the merits of his request.  Senator Weston moved that the bill be allowed to proceed.  Her motion failed by one vote.

Senator John Martin was the only member who was not present and voting.  Were he present and voting the measure still would have failed to get enough votes to pass.  All Democrats present voted to kill the bill without allowing it to be considered by the entire Legislature.  All the Republicans voted in favor of allowing the bill to proceed.

House Speaker Glenn Cummings has two children at the King Middle School.  Emails were sent out today to the public.  Speaker Cummings indicates he has a son in the school, and a daughter who will start there soon.  He states, "As a parent, I want these options to be available to the students who need access to them, few as they may be."

The options Speaker Cummings refers to include twelve year old daughters receiving the pill, and any other form of birth control, without specific parental knowledge.

Sexual activity between children under the age of 14 is illegal in the state of Maine.

Speaker Cummings is on the Legislative Council.  He voted against the bill today.

Michael Lemelin came to the State House today.  The Chelsea resident met with the Senate President, Beth Edmonds, in the morning before the Council meeting.  He asked her to allow the bill to be heard.  

She told him she would not.  She voted against allowing the bill in.

Previous RECORD stories on this issue:
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