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| 📷 U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (left) looks over plans for the renovation of the Colonial Theater in downtown Augusta with Richard Parkhurst, the president of the theater's board, on April 4, 2023. (BDN photo by Michael Shepherd) |
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📣 Maine's Republican senator criticizes an anti-abortion judge's ruling.
◉ Sen. Susan Collins was one of the few Republicans to criticize a Texas judge's ruling last week to rescind federal approval for the abortion drug mifepristone.
◉ The drug sits in limbo for now with the administration of President Joe Biden preparing an appeal and another court issuing a conflicting ruling preserving access to the drug in a number of states including Maine, which is one of the rural states where most abortions are done with medication.
◉ The judge, Matthew Kacsmaryk of Texas, was a controversial appointee of former President Donald Trump. Collins was the only Republican senator to oppose his confirmation in 2019, citing his “alarming bias against LGBTQ Americans and disregard for Supreme Court precedents.”
◉ "In 2019, I voted against Judge Kacsmaryk's confirmation, and I disagree strongly with his decision in this case. Mifepristone is an FDA-approved drug that has been on the market for more than two decades and extensively studied," Collins said in a Monday statement to outlets including Newsweek.
👏 The governor applauds Frey but hasn't commented on his relationship.
◉ Gov. Janet Mills issued a Monday statement saying she "applauds" Frey for his move alongside top lawyers in more than 20 other states to file an amicus brief trying to get Kacsmaryk's mifepristone decision overturned.
◉ The Democratic governor said her administration is looking at ways to fight back against the ruling, including by considering stockpiles of the drug like the one Massachusetts announced on Monday.
◉ Mills' office has not responded to repeated requests for comment on Frey's relationship with a subordinate since it became public last week. Her spokespeople did not answer another message on it Monday. |
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What we're reading
⏩ Maine argued in court the $1 billion corridor was rushed to evade voters.
🤏 A former aide to an eccentric Maine candidate was indicted for allegedly stealing $225,000 from the late Max Linn.
🪧 Portlanders protested the police response to a recent neo-Nazi march.
🧑🚒 Bangor firefighters want a chunk of the city's cache of federal aid.
📇 A court ordered the secretary of state to reword the utility takeover referendum question, Maine Public reports. Here's your soundtrack. |
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