As a child, I remember the whole family piling into our station wagon for a Sunday drive. We would head to the mountains of North Carolina in search of snow. I cannot say I was a big fan of these drives as the roads were full of curves and sitting in the “way back” facing where we had been rather than where we were going was a great opportunity for car sickness. I also remember the five of us piling into the back seat of our car, a sedan at the time, and traveling the twenty plus hours from South Carolina to Maine. This, to me, was a much more exciting trip as we passed through or near all the major cities on the east coast. The thing about these Sunday drives and longer trips is that we were never strapped into car seats, we never even buckled up our seat belts. Of course, cars were more tank like, but this was long before the national speed limit of fifty-five. I can remember my dad going eighty miles an hour on the highway just to keep up with traffic. There seemed to be little concern for safety. This was not the norm just for my family it was what was done at the time. Because we learn from our mistakes, because we all desire safety, because we recognize our responsibility to ensure that our children are safe wherever they are, laws were made that changed the way that cars are made, and the way children ride in cars. Infants and toddlers are all required to be strapped into fortress like car seats, adolescents and teens do not think twice about buckling their seat belts, and we even restrict smoking in cars when children are present. These are but a few of the laws that we make to keep children, safe and sound as they travel near and far. Because of laws like these, it seems to me that our culture considers protecting children to be of utmost importance. This is why it is astonishing to me that the leaders in Maine are working on legislation that makes the womb a much more dangerous place for a child than an automobile. Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, politicians have gone out of their way to assert that abortion must be legal, that there can be no restrictions, that there can be no exceptions, that a child can be aborted at anytime during pregnancy, including in the last month or days of pregnancy. These types of legislation are like removing all the safety requirements for children riding in cars… Four bills were introduced in the Maine legislature last week that in essence turn Maine from vacationland into abortion land. The first bill makes it impossible for any town in Maine, that may want to restrict abortion to do so. The legislation, of course, speaks of ensuring that every Mainer who wants an abortion can have it no matter what town they live in; abortion must be convenient. The second piece of proposed legislation would remove all co-pays and out of pocket expenses that private insurers may require. This is in addition to no co-pay for the pill. Lifesaving medication for cancer patients, or procedures for cardiac patients require co-pays and out of pocket payments. The most prolific reason for bankruptcies in our country is the heavy burden of medical cost, and yet rather than making life saving a priority, this proposed legislation sadly makes taking of life cheap or free and is clearly an example how a culture of death and darkness are taking over. Thirdly, our legislators will be seeking to pass a law that protects Maine abortion providers who perform abortions for non-Maine residents. If someone comes to Maine from a state that has restricted or outlawed abortion, seeking termination of pregnancy they find no barriers to acquiring this service. Simply, come to Maine where abortion is easy and cheap or free. Lastly, and this bill is being introduced by Gov. Mills, who previously stated she saw no reason to make changes to Maine’s abortion law, makes it possible for an abortion to be performed after twenty-four weeks. The current law in Maine, recognizes viability, when a child can live outside of the womb, as at twenty-four weeks of gestation. If this law passes, which is proposed as an exception in cases of rape or incest, the truth is that these late term abortions would most likely be performed if there is a fetal anomaly, i.e., the child is not perfect. I suspect that many of you have heard me say on more than one occasion that abortion is the greatest crime/sin of our time. It has also had the most detrimental effect on our society than any other activity. Abortion and the fight to keep it legal makes life at its most vulnerable stages expendable. If life is cheap when it is most helpless, is it any wonder that the proliferation of violence towards life continues to reach epidemic proportions. And in another attack on vulnerable life, we are seeing legislation that makes assisted suicide, carefully rebranded as “compassion and mercy” being proposed in many places. When I think back to those Sunday drives and the trips to Maine, I thank God that we arrived at our destinations safely. I also thank God that children today are safer in cars than they ever have been. But I cannot for the life of me, understand how men and women whom we have elected to govern and to protect the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness have failed to preserve or protect the first and most essential right to life. Instead, our legislators are considering legislation that is like placing children at their most vulnerable into speeding cars with no safety features.