Kellyanne Conway, a senior advisor to President Donald Trump, and Tom Price, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, visited the Maine State House on Wednesday for a Republicans-only meeting and photo op with Governor Paul LePage.
The Trump officials may not have realized or understood the implication of the fact that Wednesday was also Women’s Day at the State House. A large group of politically-active Maine women were on hand to lobby for issues like reproductive justice and workplace protections and to advocate for more women in public office.
The activists didn’t miss the chance to protest these two champions of Trump’s health care repeal plan, which would cut health coverage for 24 million people and prevent women from accessing health care through Planned Parenthood clinics, among other cuts and restrictions. A crowd quickly gathered outside the conference room where Price, Conway and LePage were meeting and their press conference was serenaded with chants of “this is what democracy looks like” and “women’s rights are human rights.”
Price and Conway’s visit was billed as a response to Maine’s opioid addiction crisis, but health care advocates pointed out that their health care repeal plan will make the problem worse.
“We aren’t going to solve the opioid crisis by making it even harder to get or keep health insurance,” said Consumers for Affordable Health Care executive director Emily Brostek. “It won’t make things better; it will create chaos in the system, rip away health coverage for tens of thousands of people in Maine, and make it harder for individuals, small business owners, family doctors, and our rural hospitals to make ends meet.”
When women's rights are under attack what do we do? Stand up fight back! #mepolitics #IStandWithPP pic.twitter.com/X9cnEZieiN
— Planned Parenthood (@PPMEAF) May 10, 2017
Photo via Liz Smith.
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