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Sally Cluchey is serving her second term in the Maine House of Representatives and represents House District 52, which includes the communities of Bowdoin, Bowdoinham and Richmond. She serves on the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee and the Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services Committee.
In the Maine House of Representatives, there is no shortage of issues on which legislators disagree. But I believe certain principles and values should be shared by everyone, regardless of party.
One of these is that any Mainer who is performing a legal activity deserves to be protected from targeted harassment. I think this should be true whether that activity is something we agree with or engage in personally. In a civil society, if we disagree with something that is legal, we should work to change the law, not target people who follow it.
Recently in the Legislature, my colleagues and I had three clear opportunities to support this principle of respecting and protecting individual privacy. Whether in the area of hunting, insurance coverage, or health care, my hope was that this common-sense principle could transcend our political divisions, and that we would apply it fairly and consistently.
The first bill we considered was LD 6, allowing trappers to label their traps with a state-issued ID number instead of their name and address. It came in response to a trapper who was doxxed online and feared for her safety and that of her children. I spoke in support of this bill on the floor, urging my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote for it regardless of their personal feelings about trapping. The vote in the House was unanimous — all Republicans and Democrats present voted for the bill. This bill was signed into law by Gov. Janet Mills earlier this month.
Next came LD 270, which would protect the identities of insurance company employees involved in denying claims. Following the killing of the UnitedHealthcare CEO last year, this legislation was brought forward by the Bureau of Insurance to help ensure the safety of people carrying out legal, regulated work. Again, I spoke on the floor about our duty to protect the privacy and safety of individuals doing such work, regardless of how we may feel about it personally. Again, the House and Senate passed it unanimously.
I was heartened that, during discussion of these bills, multiple Republican legislators echoed my sentiments on the floor. They called passing these bills “a no brainer” and spoke about the importance of protecting the privacy of Mainers engaged in activities that are legal under state law. It gave me hope that this principle might be more important than politics, something we could all stand behind amidst growing divisions.
Then came LD 538. I introduced this bill, which would allow health care providers who prescribe mifepristone and misoprostol — the medications used for miscarriage management and early abortion care — to list their clinic’s name instead of their personal name on prescription labels. These medications are FDA-approved, widely used and legal in Maine. But the professionals prescribing them face very real threats: stalking, bomb threats and harassment at clinics and homes are on the rise, even in Maine.
Sadly, all legislative Republicans who were present voted against this common-sense bill. To be clear, LD 538 is not about abortion policy — it is about protecting Maine medical professionals who are targeted for providing lawful, essential health care. Yet those who were happy to join me in protecting trappers and insurance claim deniers from targeted harassment were unwilling to do the same for Maine health professionals, even eerily suggesting the bill would shield providers from “accountability.”
This double standard is hypocritical and deeply disappointing to me. Filtering our public safety decisions through the lens of partisan politics by protecting only those whose work aligns with one political viewpoint is, I believe, not only unfair and inconsistent, but also dangerous. If we in Maine truly value fairness, safety and the rule of law, we must apply these principles evenly. I urge my colleagues — and our constituents — to hold all of us in public office to that standard.
