Fiery debate over proposed shield law leads to rare censure in Maine House

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Fiery debate over a bill to protect health care workers who provide abortion and gender-affirming care from out-of-state lawsuits crossed a line in the Maine House, leading lawmakers to formally censure a pair of colleagues on Thursday.

Rep. Michael Lemelin, R-Chelsea, said the mass shooting last October in Lewiston, Maine, that claimed 18 lives and recent storms were God’s revenge for “immoral” laws adopted by legislators, and he described the shield bill as “inspired by Lucifer himself.” Another lawmaker, Rep. Shelley Rudnicki, of Fairfield, announced that she agreed with Lemelin’s remarks.

House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross told Lemelin in a letter that the remarks were “extremely offensive and intentionally harmful to the victims and the families of the Lewiston tragedy, the House of Representatives, and the people of Maine.”

Lemelin and Rudnicki both delivered brief, identical apologies on the House floor, allowing them to resume their ability to speak and vote.

The Maine Senate voted 21-13 in favor of the bill Thursday, after a debate that was shorter than the tense discussion in the House ahead of a 80-70 vote in that chamber late Wednesday evening. More votes are required for enactment.

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