Conservative lies succeed in getting Maine to withdraw trans-supportive bill

Maine lawmakers have abandoned a measure that would have helped protect transgender youth’s access to lifesaving health care after a firestorm of unhinged conservative criticism online, led by hate influencer Chaya Raichik.

The state’s Judiciary Committee voted unanimously – with one member absent – to stop L.D. 1735 from progressing. The bill would have protected transgender youth and their families from prosecution in other states if they get gender-affirming care in Maine.

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L.D. 1735 would take a variety of steps to protect families who come to the state to obtain health care for their trans children, including declaring that an out-of-state arrest warrant for someone who violated another state’s law against gender-affirming care for youth is Maine’s “lowest law enforcement priority.”

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On social media, Raichik – who goes by “Libs of TikTok” – claimed that the bill would allow Maine to “take custody of a kid if the parents oppose s*x change surgery and the chemical castration of their kids.” She dubbed the bill the “Transgender Trafficking Bill.”

Her claim was based on the fact that the bill grants state judges “temporary jurisdiction” over such situations that involve minors.

Jurisdiction means that a judge can rule on a specific case; “jurisdiction” is not a synonym for “custody.” But Raichik still highlighted the part of the bill about jurisdiction and wrote that it “says the state can take custody of a kid if the parents oppose s*x change surgery and the chemical castration of their kids.”

Raichik then shared the email addresses of Judiciary Committee members and encouraged her 2.8 million followers to inundate them with messages.

The message was then reposted by conservative commentator Megyn Kelly, who wrote, “This is SICK! Bombard them with emails. This cannot pass.”

Donald Trump Jr. also responded to Raichik’s post, writing that “they want full control of your kids. They want parents to have no say so they can do whatever they want,” an ironic take considering those seeking to ban minors from accessing gender-affirming care are trying to take away parents’ power over their kids’ medical care.

“These people are evil and insane. Stop this madness,” Trump Jr. added.

Anti-trans activist Riley Gaines urged her followers to send letters to the Judiciary Committee that falsely claimed that the bill “would permit state government to separate children from their parents over a social issue.”

The claim was referring to the provision in the bill that would allow a judge to have temporary jurisdiction over a minor who is present in the state so that they can rule on such cases. The bill also didn’t require judges to side with supportive parents in custody disputes; it simply allowed judges to take that into account.

State Rep. Laurie Osher (D) introduced the bill earlier this month as a way to stop prosecutors from other states from interrogating trans minors and their families if they seek health care that is inaccessible in their home states. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), for example, has been requesting medical records for trans youth from Texas who are suspected of having gone out of state for healthcare.

The bill would have made Maine the fifteenth state to pass a trans sanctuary state law.