GLAD works alongside many great organizations that strive to support and uplift the LGBTQ+ community. Below you will find links to several organizations that work with transgender folks and their loved ones in Maine in a variety of areas. For further resources and referrals, please reach out to GLAD Answers by filling out our intake form. You can also email us at GLADAnswers@glad.org or leave a voicemail at 800-455-GLAD.
I, John/Jane Inmate, was harassed/threatened/physically attacked because of my sexual orientation by [name(s) of person(s) involved] on [date(s) that the act(s) took place].
When you write a grievance, be sure to include as much information as you can remember. Include in your complaint:
If you reported harassment to any prison official(s) previously, indicate who you told, when, and what they did or did not do about it.
With politicians around the country denying essential medical care to transgender people, it is critical that Maine take steps to protect access to health care and the providers who deliver that care. We thank Rep. Osher for starting this process even though LD 1735 is not moving ahead. We know that Maine people, state leaders and many legislators understand the importance of passing the right bill as quickly as possible. We look forward to working with the legislature to move forward on a bill to support transgender people and their families, protect health care providers from hostile out-of-state laws, and ensure continued access to care for all in Maine.
GLAD 答案GLAD 的法律資訊專線 繁忙不已。今年迄今為止，我們每月平均接聽 169 通電話，高於 2022 年的每月 130 通。在 20 名 GLAD Answers 志工的幫助下，GLAD Answers 的工作人員可以解答問題並為大量來電者提供支援。
一月
二月
行進
四月
可能
六月
七月
八月
九月
從 1 月到 9 月，來電者需要以下方面的支援：
| 問題領域 | 入學人數 |
| ID項目 | 271 |
| 獄中治療 | 193 |
| 暴力/騷擾 | 122 |
| 醫療保健/醫療服務 | 86 |
| 就業 | 67 |
| 住房 | 57 |
| 移民/庇護 | 53 |
該團隊由 GLAD Answers 協調員 Kayden Hall 和公共資訊經理 Gabrielle Hamel 組成，每六個月舉辦一次志工培訓。我們剛在九月舉辦了最新一期培訓，新增了六名志願者，並加入了去年一直與我們合作的十四名敬業志工。這些奉獻的志工們奉獻自己的時間，回覆電子郵件、電話和線上訊息，並為有需要的人提供資源和資訊。
我們的下一次志工培訓將在春季進行。 您現在可以註冊!
我們有這麼多優秀的志願者，我們正在努力擴大我們的覆蓋範圍，確保所有能夠獲得 GLAD Answers 幫助的人都知道這個免費資源，尤其是低收入人群、黑人和棕色人種社區，以及大波士頓地區以外的地區。我們誠摯邀請您分享以下資訊： GLAD 答案 與您所在社區中可能對自己的合法權利有疑問或需要有關解決反 LGBTQ+ 歧視的資訊的人溝通。
這個故事最初發表在 2023 年秋季 GLAD Briefs 簡報中， 閱讀更多.
The vast majority of book bans that are taking hold across the country specifically aim to remove books that are by and about LGBTQ people, communities of color, and other marginalized groups. Students have the right to equal educational opportunity and a First Amendment right to speak and receive information freely.
麻薩諸塞州
On January 23, 2023, GLAD and the ACLU of Massachusetts sent a letter urging Massachusetts public school districts to protect students’ legal rights by rejecting censorship in school libraries. Read the letter.
緬因州
On May 16, 2023, GLAD and the ACLU of Maine sent a letter to Maine’s public school leaders demanding they uphold their own legal obligations and students’ First Amendment rights by stopping efforts to ban and censor books. Read the letter.
新罕布夏州
On December 4, 2023, GLAD and the ACLU of New Hampshire sent a letter to Frank Edelblut, the commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Education (DOE), warning about First Amendment concerns regarding the DOE’s insinuation that the Dover School District should consider banning two books as “developmentally inappropriate.” In a separate open letter to the superintendents of New Hampshire’s school districts, GLAD and the ACLU of New Hampshire urged them to take a stand against censorship and protect student access to an equal and safe environment by resisting calls to remove books from school libraries. Read the letters.
這 跨性別認同項目 是為居住在新英格蘭並希望在州和聯邦文件上更新其法定姓名和性別標記的變性人提供的免費資源。
如果您需要協助更新聯邦和州文件上的法定姓名和性別，請訪問 Maine page 用於跨性別身分識別項目。
A new law signed by Governor Mills today will allow transgender minors who have reached a minimum age of 16, have a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, and are being harmed or will be from being denied medically necessary health care, to have a medical pathway to receive such care. LD 535 authorizes 16- and 17-year-olds in those circumstances and who meet detailed requirements of counseling and informed consent to receive evidence-based, medically recommended non-surgical care if they are deemed competent to give such consent and their parents refuse to provide the required care.
Broad medical consensus recognizes that puberty-blocking medication and/or cross-hormone therapy is the standard of care for minors in appropriate circumstances. Evidence shows that minors who have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria have better life outcomes and more successful treatment when they receive timely care and are able to go through puberty congruent with their gender identity.
While many transgender minors receive care with the support and involvement of their parents, LD 535 ensures minors capable of informed consent and who have had detailed counseling with a physician and some other health care providers are not denied necessary and timely care.
“Getting real information about transgender people, and the process of acceptance and understanding, can be challenging and complex for families of transgender youth. Pediatricians strive to create a safe environment for parents to better understand and listen to the needs of their children while receiving support, and for adolescents to understand their parents’ concerns as well – but unfortunately parental acceptance isn’t always attained by adolescence,” said Joe Anderson, DO, Advocacy Chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Maine Chapter. “Gender dysphoria is a well-recognized medical diagnosis with an established and effective treatment and delaying access to care can have harmful consequences. LD 535 will help ensure that mature transgender minors receive the care they need when they need it, which will lead to better long-term outcomes.”
LD 535 was introduced by Representative Sheehan and cosponsored by Senator Tipping and Representatives Malon, Moonen, Osher, and Rana. It creates a pathway for a limited set of 16 and 17-year-olds with diagnosed gender dysphoria and who are experiencing harm to access care in line with existing avenues under Maine law regarding other kinds of medical treatment such as mental health care and substance use treatment.
“LD 535 will protect the lives of young transgender people who will certainly be harmed by a delay in receiving the medical care recommended by their providers,” said Representative Sheehan. “Parents of trans youth may withhold consent for care for a variety of reasons, including out of a desire to protect their children from possible adverse consequences, yet medical research makes clear that for some youth there are grave risks associated with delaying or denying gender-affirming care. This law assures that transgender young people can be spared harmful long-term consequences of delayed care while allowing the family the opportunity to continue the work of developing mutual understanding and support.”
The legislation received wide support from parents, youth, medical providers, and youth advocates who testified at House and Senate hearings. It passed by significant margins in the House and in the Senate.
“Despite broad medical consensus and well-established standards of care, transgender healthcare remains highly stigmatized, and as a result youth don‘t always get the care they need,” said Quinn Gormley, Executive Director, Maine TransNet. “It is completely understandable that parents may have fears and questions about what their transgender kids are going through, but the fact is that choosing not to act is not neutral – delaying access to care can have serious consequences for transgender young people. LD 535 will ensure that mature minors who have worked through an extensive evaluation with their healthcare team and whose providers recommend that they begin hormones are not denied medically necessary care simply because the care they need is misunderstood and stigmatized.”
LD 535 requires that a minor seeking care be at least 16-years-old and that a health care professional establishes that they meet the following thresholds: the minor has been diagnosed with gender dysphoria; the minor is experiencing or will experience harm if the care is not provided; and the minor is mentally and physically capable to consent and has provided informed written consent.
“A strong relationship with parents is a protective factor for young people, and parents have an important role in loving, supporting and guiding decisions for their children, including healthcare decisions consistent with medical standards of care. But young people who are 16 or 17 and capable of informed consent as determined by a doctor and some other health care professionals and who need care should not suffer needlessly because other people, even the parents they love, do not understand their condition or support their care,” said Mary Bonauto, Senior Director of Civil Rights and Legal Strategies at GLBTQ 法律倡議者與捍衛者. “Maine has been responsive to the needs of young people by enacting laws to allow them to get needed care, particularly for stigmatized conditions. In that tradition, LD 535 provides specific guidelines to allow transgender young people to access necessary care that will allow them to thrive, while limiting disruption to family relationships.”
“Young people should have access to the health care they need,” said Meagan Sway, Policy Director, 緬因州美國公民自由聯盟. “While state law recognizes that health care decisions for minors typically involve the consent of a parent or guardian, it also allows that some forms of life-saving care are so important that minors should be able to receive it, even in the absence of parental support. LD 535 will ensure older transgender teenagers who are 16 and 17 years old can access this life-saving standard of care.”
In general, under federal and Maine state law, nearly all health plans cannot discriminate on the basis of sex, and, because the Supreme Court ruling in 博斯托克訴克萊頓公司 得出結論，所有性別認同和性取向歧視都是性別歧視的一種形式，幾乎所有健康計畫都不能歧視 LGBTQ+ 族群。
Maine Insurance Code
In 2019, the Maine Insurance Code was amended to include a prohibition of discrimination by any health plans that are regulated by the Maine Bureau of Insurance. The Code provides a list of examples of prohibited discrimination, including but not limited to:
These essentially parallel the federal protections of Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). For more information, see: Title 24-A, §4320-L: Nondiscrimination.
Maine Medicaid (MaineCare)
Also in 2019, MaineCare, Maine’s Medicaid program, began to provide coverage for medically necessary treatment for gender dysphoria, removing an outdated and discriminatory exclusion for transition-related care and adding vital standards of care that reflect current medical practices recognizing the healthcare needs of transgender individuals. These changes bring MaineCare policy into alignment with the professional medical community and into compliance with both state and federal law, including Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act.
是的。自籌資金（也稱為自保）的聯邦醫療保險（Medicare）和雇主健康計劃受聯邦法律管轄。
醫療保險
In 2013, Medicare removed the ban on coverage for treatment of gender dysphoria because it was “experimental” and began to cover medically necessary treatment for gender dysphoria.
《平價醫療法案》（ACA）第 1557 條
Section 1557 makes it unlawful for any health care provider that receives funding from the Federal government to refuse to treat an individual– or to otherwise discriminate against the individual– based on sex (as well as race, color, national origin, age or disability). Section 1557 imposes similar requirements on health insurance issuers that receive federal financial assistance. Health care providers and insurers are barred, among other things, from excluding or adversely treating an individual on any of these prohibited bases. The Section 1557 final rule applies to recipients of financial assistance from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Health Insurance Marketplaces and health programs administered by HHS.
第 1557 條通常不適用於《僱員退休收入保障法》下的自籌資金團體健康計劃或短期有限期計劃，因為提供這些計劃的實體通常不主要從事提供醫療保健的業務，也不接受聯邦財政援助。
In May 2021, the Biden Administration announced that the Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) would interpret and enforce Section 1557 of the ACA and Title IX’s nondiscrimination requirements based on sex to include sexual orientation and gender identity. The update was made in light of the June 2020 U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County and subsequent court decisions.
在執行第 1557 條時，OCR 將遵守《宗教自由恢復法》（42 USC § 2000bb） 等等.以及涉及第 1557 條法規的訴訟中發布的所有其他法律要求和適用的法院命令。
第七章
對於擁有15名或以上員工的雇主，第七章禁止在招聘、解僱、薪酬以及其他僱用條款、條件或特權方面基於種族、膚色、宗教、性別和國籍進行歧視。僱用條款和條件包括雇主提供的醫療保健福利。從歷史上看，並非所有當局都同意第七章保護LGBTQ+員工免受歧視。
然而，最高法院的判決 博斯托克訴克萊頓公司 changes this because that ruling made it clear that sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination are forms of sex discrimination. Although the decision is about wrongful employment termination, it has implications for employer-sponsored health plans and other benefits. For example, employers may want to adjust group health plan coverage of gender dysphoria and related services, including gender-affirmation surgeries and review and compare benefits for same-sex and opposite-sex spouses.
2020年7月8日， 瓜達露佩聖母學校訴莫里西-貝魯案案中，美國最高法院重申了先前裁決中確立的將部長級例外適用於就業歧視案件的立場。同時，法院也提出了第七章中一個懸而未決的問題：針對宗教雇主的部長級例外是否允許這些組織基於員工或候選人的LGBTQ+身份對其進行歧視？
目前尚不清楚法院的裁決如何 瓜達露佩聖母學校訴莫里西-貝魯案 這可能會影響宗教雇主的LGBTQ+員工，但宗教組織和雇主應該認識到，牧師職位的例外並不適用於其組織內的所有職位。相反，它僅限於真正履行宗教職責的員工。例如，如果學校清潔工的職位僅在課餘時間出現在教學大樓內，且不負責傳播信仰，那麼該職位很可能不被視為牧師職位。
More and more surgeons who perform gender-affirming surgeries take health insurance. You should research surgeons carefully to find one who is a good fit for you. You can look at the list of in-network providers provided by your plan to see if they are included or if it includes any surgeons in your area, and if not, you can contact the surgeon’s office to determine if they accept your insurance. Most health insurance plans require that you use a medical provider in your network, but if your network does not include a surgeon who performs the services you need, you may be able to go out of network if you seek prior authorization from your plan.
If you are being discriminated against by a health care facility or provider, you can file a discrimination complaint with the Maine Human Rights Commission. See the “Discrimination” Issue Area for detailed information about how to do this.
If you have a health care plan that is regulated by the Maine Bureau of Insurance, you can file a complaint with that agency: File a Complaint/Dispute | PFR Insurance.
如果您擁有受《平價醫療法案》第 1557 條管轄的醫療保健計劃，您可以向聯邦衛生與公眾服務部民權辦公室提出申訴。更多信息，請參閱： 如何提起民權投訴.
如果您透過至少有15名員工的雇主獲得了自費醫療保健計劃，您可以向聯邦平等就業機會委員會 (EEOC) 提交歧視投訴。更多信息，請參閱“歧視”問題專區。
When you first arrive at a new facility, an officer should conduct an “intake” with you. This is the best time for you to share if you are transgender or intersex. You can also tell the intake officer if you have a history of being “perceived”, or others seeing you as, transgender or intersex, or if you have recently had gender-affirming procedures or any similar care. If you have already had gender-affirming surgery, then you should tell your intake officer immediately. Maine’s policy is that people who have had gender-affirming procedures should be housed in accordance with their gender identity.
Once you tell the intake officer, they are responsible for contacting a person with the role of Chief Administrative Officer or someone who works for them. That intake officer should tell the Chief Administrative Officer if you are transgender or intersex. It is also possible that a defense attorney or prosecutor, a guardian, a department or jail staff member, or another officer of the court has already said that you are transgender or intersex. If someone else has told the facility, then the intake officer is still responsible for telling the Chief Administrative Officer even if you haven’t.
If the Chief Administrative Officer receives information from someone about your case before your first intake, then they might make a decision about your initial strip search and housing placement before you arrive.
If your initial strip search has not been done before your intake, then the Chief Administrative Officer should consider different factors, including your personal preference, about the gender of the officer who will conduct it. That Chief Administrative Officer will document the reasons for choosing a particular officer in your Corrections Information System (CORIS).
The Chief Administrative Officer or someone who works for them will also decide where the best place for your immediate housing is. They will make that decision based on different factors including your risk to safety. They should document all the reasons for their decision in your CORIS file. Your housing assignment might change after they conduct a more in-depth review. In the meantime, your strip searches will be conducted by staff members of the same gender as other people who are in the unit you are assigned to. If the Chief Administrative Officer wants to assign a different person to search you, they will put this in your CORIS file.
You should be given an opportunity to use the bathroom and shower privately until a full assessment takes place.
If you are already on hormonal medications when you enter the facility, you should be able to continue using them. You can continue to use them at least until you have an appointment with the facility’s physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner. Your facility has to follow a policy about this called the Adult Facility Policy 18.7: Pharmaceuticals.
The Chief Administrative Officer should notify the facility’s Health Services Administrator as soon as they can about your case. The Health Services Administrator should prioritize your case so that they can make a determination about whether or not you have received a diagnosis of “gender dysphoria”, have received hormonal treatment, have received transgender or intersex-related medical procedures, or any other relevant medical assistance.
In order to do that, the facility will probably ask you for a release of information to get your healthcare documents. If you want to say yes, they will be able to look through those documents and hopefully more quickly decide how to move forward with your case. The Chief Administrative Officer will then decide if you need an evaluation for “gender dysphoria” or an expedited medical health assessment. They may also look for information from Adult Community Corrections to request information about how long they have known you were transgender or intersex.
If there is a safety issue relating to being transgender or intersex, you should let officers at the facility know right away. This could include risks to safety of yourself or of another person. It also includes anything that would require a change from your immediate housing placement that was made by the Chief Administrative Officer when you entered. The facility staff should follow department policy that sets out what to do in a situation like this. That policy is called the Adult Facility Policy 15.1: Administrative Segregation Status.
Maine uses a definition for “Gender Dysphoria” from a book, written by doctors at the American Psychiatric Association, called the Diagnostic and Statistics Manual of Mental Disorders [Fifth Edition], or the “DSM-5”. The definition is:
A difference between a person’s experienced and expressed gender and their assigned gender that has taken place for at least six months. It must include two of the following:
Within 30 days of your report, the Chief Administrative Officer should put together a team to handle your case. People on that team should include your Unit Manager at your facility, the Health Services Administrator, the Department’s Medical Director, the Department’s Mental Health Director, a member of the facility’s security staff, a member of the facility’s classification staff, and the facility Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) monitor. There may be one or more other people on the team as well if the Chief Administrative Office thinks they should be. For example, they may contact the Chief Administrative Officer or Department’s Director of Classification at the facility where you could be transferred to.
The Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) is a federal law passed in 2003. Under PREA, rather than automatically assigning people to a facility, transgender and intersex people are assessed for potential safety threats and housed “on a case-by-case basis” according to gender identity. Correctional staff have to consider housing and program assignments at least twice a year to review any threats to safety experienced by transgender and intersex people living in prison.
According to the law, they also have to take into account your own view of your safety. They are not allowed to separate you for housing or other program placements based solely on your LGBT+ status.
PREA also protects “involuntary segregation”, or the removal of a person to a different housing assignment against their will. You cannot continue to be kept in a different part of the prison against your will unless prison officials have determined that there is no other way to keep you safe. They have to make that determination within the first 24 hours if they do place you in separate housing against your will. People cannot be segregated against their will for more than thirty days, and they must be given access to all of the same work, educational, and programming opportunities as any other person.
The team will make the following recommendations about your case:
The team should make these recommendations based on information available about your case. That includes things like whether or not you have a diagnosis for “gender dysphoria”, as well as any other relevant medical tests. If you haven’t had an assessment for “gender dysphoria” yet, then the team will decide if you need one. They will also decide if they want to request any other medical assessments.
In making decisions about your recommendations, the team will consider things like:
The Chief Administrative Officer or someone who works for them should make the final decision about the full team’s recommendations for your current facility. They will make decisions about your health care plan and transfer to another facility in conjunction with other people.
That final decision on the recommendations should be used to create a case plan for you. That plan might include an evaluation for “gender dysphoria”, for example. If it does, then you should be brought for an assessment for “gender dysphoria” or any other relevant medical assessment. Within 15 days of that assessment, the Chief Administrative Officer should share the results with your team and finalize its recommendations.
Even after that, the Chief Administrative Officer can also bring your team together periodically or any time appropriate to make further recommendations about your care. Any time that your team meets, as well as all of your recommendations, should be documented in your CORIS file.
Your unit management team is responsible for reassessing your case and housing situation at least every six months, or more frequently if it is necessary. If you experience threats or a change in safety, you should let an officer at your facility know. Your care team should give specific attention to any threats to safety you report.
It can be more difficult to request transfer if you’ve been in a facility for a while, but there is a procedure to do so. The main differences with asking for a transfer after you have already been in a facility are that, until a full review has been completed, you will not be placed in a different housing unit with people of a different gender than where you have been living. You will also not be given the opportunity to shower or use the bathroom privately.
The first step is to let staff at your facility know that you are transgender or intersex. From there, they should contact the Chief Administrative Officer of the facility. The Chief Administrative Officer should reach out to the Health Services Administrator as soon as possible after they receive your report. The process from there looks similar to what would have happened if you had requested the transfer from the beginning.
The Health Services Administrator should prioritize your case so that they can make a determination about whether or not you have received a diagnosis of “gender dysphoria”, have received hormonal treatment, have received transgender or intersex-related medical procedures, or any other relevant medical assistance.
In order to do that, the facility will need you to sign a “Release of Information” to get your healthcare documents. If you want to say yes, they will be able to look through those documents and hopefully more quickly decide how to move forward with your case. The Chief Administrative Officer will then decide if you need an evaluation for “gender dysphoria” or an expedited medical health assessment.
The Chief Administrative Officer will also ask staff at your facility and staff from other departments about whether they knew you were transgender or intersex or had perceived you to be before you made your own disclosure. They may reach out to the adult community corrections as well.
There are options if you don’t think that the Chief Administrative Officer or the team made the right decision about your custody level or if they did not approve a transfer. You can “appeal” this decision through the Classification Appeal Process. You can ask an officer for a copy of the Prisoner Appeal of Classification Decision form. Here is a link to Procedure J of the Classification System, which also describes the process.
To make an appeal, you have to submit the Prisoner Appeal of Classification Decision form within five business days of receiving your decision—this does not count weekend days or holidays. You should submit this form to the Department’s Director of Classification for custody level or facility transfer decisions, specifically. You should submit this form to the facility Chief Administrative Officer for all other classification issues.
Appealing the decision itself will not stop it from taking place, so you will have to remain housed in your current facility during the appeals process. Whoever you submitted your appeal to, such as the Department’s Director of Classification or the facility Chief Administrative Officer, should give you a decision about your appeal within 30 days. They can choose to approve the decision, reverse the decision, modify the decision, or “remand” the decision to the Unit Management Team (UMT) for further consideration. “Remanding” the decision means that the UMT will take over and decide what to do.
It is important to remember that the Department’s Director of Classification is the final authority for appeals about custody level or facility transfer. For all other appeals, the facility Chief Administrative Officer is the final authority.
If you want to appeal a decision made about your case that has to do with something besides custody and transfer, you can use the regular “grievance process” at your facility by filing a grievance.
All appeals will be put into your CORIS file. You can also find more information about Maine State Prison policies in this Handbook.
The Maine Parentage Act (MPA) is a set of state laws that was passed in 2016 and strengthened in 2021. It clarified and expanded the ways someone can legally establish that they are the parents of a child. The MPA addresses who is able to, and how to, establish legal parentage. See: Title 19-A, §1851: Establishment of parentage.
Specifically, the MPA ensures greater protections and equal treatment for children of LGBTQ+ parents. The law allows many LGBTQ+ parents to establish parentage through a simple form, an Acknowledgement of Parentage (AOP), ensuring LGBTQ+ parents are able to establish their legal relationship to their child immediately at birth or any time before the child turns 18.
The MPA also extends an accessible path to parentage for children born through assisted reproduction and for children born through surrogacy.
「親子關係」表示您在各方面都是孩子的合法父母。親子關係賦予您一系列權利（例如，醫療或教育方面的決策權，在與孩子的另一方父母分離時享有撫養時間），同時也承擔著責任（例如，提供醫療保險、滿足基本生活需求、支付子女撫養費）。穩固的合法親子關係對於孩子的長期穩定和福祉至關重要。
孩子出生後儘快確立親子關係，可以確保孩子在各方面都與父母緊密相連，並讓所有與孩子生活相關的人都能更清晰地了解情況。例如，確立親子關係可以讓父母在孩子早期做出任何醫療決定，確保孩子獲得保險金或繼承權，並在父母分居時保護他們的父母權利。
The MPA provides that Mainers can establish their parentage in the following ways:
Also, the Court may accept an admission of parentage that is made under penalty of perjury, or the Court may assign parentage to a party in default as long as the party was properly served notice of the proceeding (see 19-A MRS §1841 和 §1842).
預期父母是指同意接受輔助生殖並有意成為孩子父母的人，或根據代孕協議成為預期父母的人。理想情況下，同意接受輔助生殖並有意成為父母的人會以書面形式記錄其意願，但法律也允許其他方式證明其意願。
A presumed parent is a non-birth parent that the law recognizes because of certain circumstances or relationships. A presumed parent is established as a legal parent through the execution of a valid Acknowledgement of Parentage, by an adjudication, or as otherwise provided in the MPA.
如果以下任何一項屬實，您就是推定的父母：
A de facto parent is a parent based on their relationship with the child. Establishing de facto parentage requires a judgment from a court. You can petition a court to establish your de facto parentage by demonstrating, with clear and convincing evidence that you have fully and completely undertaken a permanent, unequivocal, committed and responsible parental role in the child’s life. To make that finding a court must determine all of the following:
Federal law requires states to provide a simple civil process for acknowledging parentage upon the birth of a child. That simple civil process is the Acknowledgement of Parentage program.
Federal regulations require states to provide an Acknowledgement of Parentage program at hospitals and state birth record agencies. Acknowledgement of Parentage forms themselves are short affidavits in which the person signing affirms that they wish to be established as a legal parent with all of the rights and responsibilities of parentage. The person who gave birth to the child must also sign the form, and both parents have to provide some demographic information about themselves.
By signing an Acknowledgement of Parentage, a person is established as a legal parent, and the child’s birth certificate is issued or amended to reflect that legal parentage. Properly executed, an Acknowledgement of Parentage has the binding force of a court order and should be treated as valid in all states.
You can voluntarily acknowledge the parentage of a child by signing a form from the Maine Department of Health and Human Services known as an Acknowledgement of Parentage (AOP). An Acknowledgement of Parentage must be signed by the birth parent and the other parent (i.e., the person establishing parentage through the Acknowledgement of Parentage). The other parent can be the genetic parent (except for sperm or egg donors), an intended parent of a child born through assisted reproduction or a gestational carrier agreement, or a presumed parent (see definition of presumed parent above).
Signing an Acknowledgement of Parentage form is voluntary, and it can be done at the hospital soon after birth or until the child turns 18 by contacting the Maine Department of Health and Human Services. Here is a sample of the form, VS-27-A: Acknowledgement OF PARENTAGE (AOP).
An Acknowledgement of Parentage form must be notarized. To be valid, the people signing the form must be given oral and written notice explaining the legal consequences, rights, and responsibilities that arise from signing an Acknowledgement of Parentage. If either the birth parent or the non-birth parent does not want to sign this form to establish parentage for the non-birth parent, then either of them can try to have a court determine parentage.
如果您對是否簽署親子關係確認書有任何疑問，請在簽署前諮詢律師。親子關係確認書相當於法院對親子關係的判決，而親子關係是一項重大的、終生的責任。
Acknowledgements of Parentage can be signed after the birth of a child, up until the child’s 18th birthday. An Acknowledgement of Parentage can also be completed before the child’s birth but will not take effect until the child is born.
If you aren’t married, and you signed an Acknowledgement Parentage, you have sixty days to go to court and rescind, or take back, that acknowledgement. If it has been more than 60 days since you filed the acknowledgement, but less than two years, you can still go to court to challenge the acknowledgement if:
These same rules apply if you believe you are the parent, but someone else has acknowledged that they are the parent of the child.
You can’t challenge an acknowledgement after the child is two years old.
You will need to prove to the court that the person who acknowledged paternity is NOT the parent.
If you believe you are the parent of a child, but you had no way of knowing it when the child was born, you can challenge an acknowledgement of parentage. You have two years from the time you found out you might be the parent to challenge an Acknowledgement. This is the only situation where someone can challenge an Acknowledgement of Parentage that is more than two years old.
The MPA has many provisions that protect non-biological parents. If you are your child’s presumed parent, or if you are the intended parent of a child born through assisted reproduction or a gestational carrier agreement or have a genetic connection (except for sperm or egg donors), you can establish parentage by signing an Acknowledgement of Parentage.
Some non-biological parents can establish parentage through the MPA’s de facto parent provisions, which require a court to adjudicate the person to be the child’s de facto parent.
The MPA provides important clarity and protections for children born through assisted reproduction (i.e., you did not have sexual intercourse or use a gestational carrier to conceive). The MPA confirms that a gamete donor (e.g., sperm or egg donor) is not a parent of a child conceived through assisted reproduction. Also, the MPA affirms that a person who consents to assisted reproduction with the intent to be a parent of the resulting child is a legal parent and can establish that parentage by signing an Acknowledgement of Parentage.
Yes, Governor Janet Mills signed LD 1539, An Act to Provide Access to Fertility Care, on May 2, 2022, and the law applies to private health plans which are regulated by the Maine Bureau of Insurance that are issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2023. This includes employers who offer insured health plans. Some employers have self-insured plans, and these are not regulated by the Maine Bureau of Insurance.
The law requires all carriers who offer health plans in Maine to provide coverage for medical interventions including fertility diagnostic care, fertility treatment, and medically necessary fertility preservation.
A joint adoption is when both partners adopt a child together at the same time. A second-parent or co-parent adoption is when one partner adopts the other partner’s child. A single-parent adoption is when a single individual adopts a child. All three of these are legal in Maine.
不。簽署了親子關係確認書的父母無需再進行第二次收養來確立親子關係。親子關係確認書根據州法律確立了合法的親子關係，相當於州法律下的法院親子關係判決，並賦予您作為父母的所有權利和義務。根據聯邦法律，親子關係確認書相當於司法親子關係判決書，應在所有州得到承認。
由於擴大親子關係確認書的取得管道是一項新興發展，有些父母可能更願意在親子關係確認書的基礎上，甚至代替親子關係確認書，完成第二父母收養。為了了解最適合您家庭的方案，建議您尋求個人化的法律諮詢。
The MPA has comprehensive provisions about how to establish parentage through gestational carrier agreements. Before starting any medical procedures to conceive a child through a carrier process, you must have a written and signed agreement that meets all of the requirements of the statute. This agreement is between you, any other intended parents, the person acting as the surrogate, and that person’s spouse (if applicable). This agreement will establish that you are the parent(s) of the child and that the surrogate and their spouse (if applicable) do not have parental rights or duties
要簽訂代孕協議，必須滿足以下所有條件：
法律要求代孕協議必須包含若干條款才有效，例如允許代孕者在懷孕期間自行做出健康和福利決定，並要求預期父母支付所有相關的醫療費用。
Yes. If a carrier is a family member, they can serve as a gestational carrier using their own gametes or genetic material. Someone who is not a family member cannot be a genetic gestational carrier. Otherwise, the same laws, including the need for a valid agreement, apply to genetic and non-genetic carriers.
The MPA explicitly provides that every child has the same rights as any other child without regard to the marital status of the parents, or the circumstances of the child’s birth. By not differentiating between parents based on their marital status, the MPA aims to treat all Maine families equally.
The MPA explicitly provides that every child has the same rights as any other child without regard to the gender of the parents or the circumstances of the child’s birth. The MPA, by not including gendered terms such as mother or father, is inclusive of all genders. By not differentiating between parents based on their gender, the MPA aims to treat all Maine families equally.
Yes. Under the MPA, a court may determine that a child has more than two legal parents if the failure to do so would be detrimental to the child. To determine detriment to the child, courts will consider factors such as the nature of the potential parent’s relationship with the child, the harm to the child if the parental relationship is not recognized, the basis for each person’s claim of parentage of the child, and other equitable factors.
As with any family law issue, individualized legal advice is recommended. GLAD Answers can provide information as well as referrals to local practitioners. If you have questions about how to protect your family, contact GLAD Answers by filling out the form at GLAD 答案 或致電 800.455.4523 (GLAD)。
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