Maine Gov. Janet Mills has something in common with the infamous former Alabama Gov. George Wallace. Both believed they could ignore federal law in their attempts to squash civil rights. But while Wallace blasted civil rights protesters with fire hoses, Mills financially ruined health care heroes. Wallace thumbed his nose at the Civil Rights Act of 1964 regarding race; Mills did the same regarding religion.

Despite one of the worst nurse shortages in the nation, Gov. Mills ordered that every nurse and health care worker who chose to exercise their civil rights be FIRED. Now expert nurses with 20 years of operating room experience are “busted and disgusted,” some working manual labor construction jobs just to keep a roof over their heads.

Our case against Maine has just begun. We will soon take this case to the Supreme Court. We will hold the offenders accountable.

Read on to learn more about our case against Gov. Janet Mills. —Mat

Help Liberty Counsel DEFEND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM and a special Challenge Grant will DOUBLE the impact of your donation.

Back in 1960s, Alabama Gov. George Wallace thought he could ignore the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and violate the civil rights of black citizens. It took a federal court and the assistance of the U.S. Army's 2nd Infantry Division to force the governor to obey federal law.

Fast-forward to 2021, and Maine Gov. Janet Mills also thought she could violate the civil rights of her state’s citizens. But instead of picking her targets by the color of their skin, Mills painted with a wider brush — discriminating against Christians and any other faithful religious adherent who refused to obey her unconstitutional shot mandates.

Where once George Wallace tried to remove blacks from schools, Janet Mills tried to remove Christians from the health care system.

For years preceding the COVID pandemic, Maine suffered a critical shortage of nurses. As of January 2021, just before the COVID outbreak, more than 1/3 of all Maine nursing homes reported nurse shortages.

Speaking of the nursing shortage, just two weeks before the first COVID case was recognized in the U.S., the CEO of Maine’s largest long-term health care provider was already warning that “the situation is dire.”

Then the pandemic hit, and Maine’s health care professionals dug in, often working round the clock and risking their own lives to serve patients. Those doctors, nurses, and medical staff were true heroes. In early 2021, Mills herself called them “health care heroes.”

But in the fall of 2021, Gov. Mills issued a mandate requiring all health care workers to get the COVID jab. Mills’ mandate allowed NO exceptions, not even for federally required religious exemptions.

Despite the protections of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Mills threatened hospitals and health care employers with fines and loss of their licenses if they accommodated ANY employee for their religious beliefs against the COVID shots. Mills thinks she can ignore federal law and purge Christians and people of faith.

This month we will take this case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Our case against Gov. Mills is now the first in the country to proceed against a state with s health care workers, but which also put the health of millions of people in peril.

Alicia, the lead plaintiff in our case, has a passion for nursing. She worked hard to earn her master’s degree in nursing. She was the lead operating nurse at her Maine hospital for 20 years. Now, she’s working in construction to put food on the table.

Under Mills’ mandate, all health care workers — including Alicia — were fired, despite a massive nursing shortage in Maine and across the country.

By October of 2021, just before Mills’ shot mandate went into effect, MaineHealth said it already faced “unprecedented capacity issues” due in part to a “shortage of workers.” Then came Mills’ mandate, and the health care system for the entire state went into crisis … not from COVID, but from Mills’ dictates.

A study confirmed that “38% of nursing homes and long-term care facilities in Maine are reporting nursing shortages — a more than 18% increase from 2021 when the pandemic began.”

Medical care in Maine has continued to decline. “You walk out of the hospital and you feel like you provided horrible care,” said one discouraged nurse. “The working conditions definitely affected my mental health.”

Liberty Counsel continues to fight Gov. Mills and her mandates, which not only violated the civil rights of Maine’s Christian and religious health care workers, but which also put the health of millions of people in peril.

Our case now moves into the discovery phase against Mills, and this month we will also take this case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Please pray for the health care workers we represent along with the millions of people forced to endure substandard care because of Gov. Mills.

Update on our Providence Christian School Case!

As you may recall, the Greenfield, Massachusetts, School Committee tried to unlawfully reject Providence Moldovian Baptist Church’s application to establish a church school, because School Committee member Elizabeth de Neeve didn’t like the school’s Christian education platform.

After receiving Liberty Counsel’s demand letter defending the church, the Greenfield School Committee wisely reversed course, voting 4-1 with two abstentions to approve the church’s school. Freedom of religion — including religious education — is free again in Greenfield once more! THANK YOU for your prayers and support! 

Help us defend religious freedom — including the lawful right to refuse a vaccination without losing their jobs. Please, generously support our legal fund today, and a special Challenge Grant will DOUBLE the impact of your gift. 

Mat Staver
Founder and Chairman

Sources:

“George Wallace.” Wikipedia, July 22, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Wallace#cite_note-Hereford-30.

Wade, Christian. “Report: Maine Has Third-Largest Nursing Shortage at Long-Term Care Facilities.” The Center Square, April 12, 2022. www.thecentersquare.com/maine/article_70dc6a02-ba75-11ec-85fb-f7a4aeab1594.html.

Wight, Patty. “Amid a Staffing Shortage, MaineHealth Now Has More COVID Patients than at Any Point during the Pandemic.” Maine Public, October 26, 2021. www.mainepublic.org/health/2021-10-26/amid-a-staffing-shortage-mainehealth-now-has-more-covid-patients-than-at-any-point-during-the-pandemic.

“The U.S. Nursing Shortage: A State-By-State Breakdown.” Nurse Journal, June 27, 2023. https://nursejournal.org/articles/the-us-nursing-shortage-state-by-state-breakdown/.