Earlier this week, a draft opinion by the United States Supreme Court became public. That opinion revealed that the Court apparently has voted to overturn Roe v. Wade completely.

Hello, this is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.

The Chief Justice of the Court has now confirmed the authenticity of that draft opinion. Although it is not a final ruling, women across Maine and all across America are rightly worried right now – worried that their fundamental right to a safe and legal abortion and to reproductive health care is near its end; worried about what that uncertainty could mean for their health, their lives, and their futures; and worried about what this draft opinion says about the values of our nation and women’s place in it.

They are right to be worried. I know what it means to live in a world without Roe v. Wade.

I grew up in rural, western Maine, in Farmington in the 60s and 70s.

I loved growing up there, and it is still my home today and a big part of who I am, but I have got to tell you – it was by no means a hotbed of women’s rights activism when I came of age.

This was a time when abortion was still illegal, when women across Maine who found themselves unexpectedly pregnant and in need had nowhere to turn. And it was when an abortion, if you could get one, it involved a clandestine, dangerous arrangement.

It was a time when birth control itself was virtually impossible to obtain, especially in rural Maine where the local doctor or the pharmacist was likely to be your neighbor, and when the best method to avoid pregnancy, we were all told, was to be “extremely careful.”

It was a time when women’s health was of secondary concern and it was impolite or out-of-line to discuss reproductive health.

We have come a long way since then. But not without a struggle.

The history of this struggle and the progress we have made, well it’s a history I have been proud to take part in – from co-founding the Maine Women’s Lobby when it was clear that women’s voices were not being heard in Augusta.

To standing up to those who would harass, intimidate, and block women from going to a Planned Parenthood clinic.

To advocating for legislation to make safe abortion available to women across Maine, in rural or medically under-served areas.

But the struggle is far from over.

With this draft decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, forces that would undermine, rollback, or outright eliminate the right to use birth control or to obtain reproductive health care, to obtain a safe and legal abortion are more powerful today than they have been in decades, despite the overwhelming public support for reproductive rights.

Well, I want to be very clear: unlike an apparent majority of the U.S. Supreme Court, I do not consider the rights of women to be dispensable.

I pledge that as long as I am Governor, I will fight with everything I have to protect reproductive rights and to preserve access to reproductive health care in the face of every and any threat to it – whether from politicians in Augusta or Supreme Court Justices in Washington.

My Administration will continue to ensure that every person in this state has access to affordable, high-quality health care and that includes reproductive services and to ensure that they can obtain that care free from harassment and intimidation no matter where they live in Maine. This is my promise.

This is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.

WHEREAS, the State of Maine is committed to recognizing that our growth and strength depends on the safety and essential role our homes, buildings and infrastructure play, both in everyday life and when disasters strike; and

Maine’s economy continues to make a strong recovery from the effects of the pandemic. We are now in the top fourteen states for jobs recovered, we brought back almost 100 percent of the jobs lost during the pandemic; our GDP growth over the past three years is 11th best in the entire nation; and our unemployment rate is down to 3.6 percent – below the New England average. Our Rainy Day Fund is at a record high; and we recorded a $1.2 billion surplus.

Hello, this is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.

Well just because our economy is making a strong comeback of course, that doesn’t mean that everyone is feeling it – because for many people, especially hardworking middle class and lower-income families, their budgets have been stretched to the brink by inflation and the rising cost of everyday goods from food to gas to heating fuel and electricity.

Well, I am happy to say that help is on the way.

Just one day after it was enacted with overwhelmingly bipartisan support in the Legislature, I was pleased to sign the supplemental budget into law this week.

This budget sends more than half of our surplus back to the people of Maine. These $850 relief checks, which will amount to $1,700 for an average family, represent one of the strongest – if not the strongest – relief proposal in the country.

I have directed the Department of Administrative and Financial Services to get these payments out as soon as they can – and we are hoping to have the first checks out the door by the beginning of June.

Look, we may not be able to control inflation or global markets or worldwide supply chain disruptions, but we can make sure that Maine people have something to help them grapple with these rising costs – and that is exactly what we are doing.

In addition to these give backs, this bipartisan supplemental budget cuts costs for Maine people in other ways:

It delivers even more property tax relief, it cuts taxes for Maine retirees and it expands other tax relief, like the Earned Income Tax Credit, for working Maine families.

The budget makes two years of community college free for students who were most impacted by the pandemic, that’s recent high school grads, and we deliver significant student loan relief so that graduates can get good-paying jobs here in Maine unburdened by school debt.

We raise wages for child care workers, and we fully fund school meals in public schools so that no child falls behind in their classwork because they just can’t learn on an empty stomach.

And we deliver much needed support to hospitals and nursing homes who have gone through so much during this pandemic.

These are just some of the important initiatives in this very strong, bipartisan, and fiscally responsible budget.

There are many more important things in this budget.

It’s also important to note what’s not in this budget as well.

There are no gimmicks.

There are no smoke and mirrors.

There is no borrowing, there is no bonding.

But what this budget shows, once again, like last year, is that through hard work and good faith negotiations, Democrats, Republicans and Independents can sit at the same table, come together, and do what is right for Maine people — and that we can do that without the rancor or bitter partisanship that has often divided Augusta in the past.

The bottom-line is this, for me: Maine people are our greatest asset – and this budget delivers for them.

This is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.

Our hospitals, nursing homes, and other members of the health care sector are one of Maine’s largest employers. They put thousands of Maine people to work in good-paying jobs and they protect the lives and health of Maine people.

But for a long time now, health care facilities across the state have had to grapple with a shortage of workers. This shortage has been over a number of years, but the stress and the length of the pandemic only made that problem worse.

Hello, this is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.

This week, I announced a new program through my Maine Jobs and Recovery Plan. It’s called Healthcare Training for ME. It provides free and low-cost career training to make it easier and more affordable for people, especially young people, to pursue careers in health care and to move up the career ladder into higher-paying jobs.

We’ve created a website — www.maine.gov/healthcaretrainingforme — that website connects individuals and employers with training curricula from adult ed programs, and community colleges, and the university system. People can then apply for tuition assistance to enroll in training programs, or employers can offer training to their employees, at little or no cost.

This program will help healthcare workers advance their careers, and support workforce training needs of healthcare employers, and it will attract new workers to these fast-growing fields. It is funded by the federal American Rescue Plan Act, with support from the Harold Alfond Foundation.

My Administration is committed to supporting our hospitals and nursing homes and other health care employers and to strengthening our health care workforce in the long-run. That’s why we’re also investing in scholarships and student loan relief for people in health care professions; also new recruitment efforts to encourage young people to enter careers in health care; and creating health care career navigators to direct people who are interested in health care fields to the right career path for them.

If you are a health care worker and you want additional training, or if you employ health care workers and want training for your staff, please visit maine.gov/healthcaretrainingforme to see a list of upcoming, free trainings.

This is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.

And, for those who celebrate, Happy Easter.