Newcastle woman presses forward with lawsuit against MaineHealth for closing Lincoln Hospital birthing center

Pregnant Woman Sues MaineHealth to Keep Damariscotta Birthing Center Open

NEWCASTLE, ME – Corrina Stum, a pregnant resident of Newcastle, has filed an amended lawsuit against MaineHealth and its Board of Trustees, demanding that the organization keep the birthing center at Lincoln Hospital in Damariscotta open. The suit, now seeking a permanent injunction and a preliminary restraining order, claims that the healthcare system has violated the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by shutting down the facility without following the required procedures.

The original complaint was filed on Aug. 5, 2026 in the Lincoln County Superior Court in Wiscasset, the day before MaineHealth’s Board of Trustees voted to close the birthing center in December. Stum, who is due in January, said in the amendment, filed Monday, that the community “has been short‑shrifted when it comes to labor and delivery services” and that “there is no legitimate health reason to do this.”

Legal Grounds

Stum’s attorney, Joe Baldacci, a Democratic state senator, argues that the closure violates the ACA’s mandate that hospitals conduct a Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA). The lawsuit contends that MaineHealth failed to:

• Identify or adequately analyze the impact of closing maternity services
• Assess the service gap that would result
• Examine emergency consequences, transportation burdens, regional capacity, or resulting public costs

“Those public meetings and internal deliberations did not satisfy the ACA requirements,” Baldacci told reporters. “The Board’s decision was made without the proper analysis required by law.”

In response, MaineHealth has filed a motion to dismiss. The system says that allowing a private citizen to ask a court to override its operational decisions would set a dangerous precedent. “The law does not permit that result,” a MaineHealth spokesperson said in a written statement.

Why the Closure Matters

Lincoln Hospital’s birthing center is the 12th maternity facility in Maine to close since 2015 and one of the 37 percent of rural hospitals that have shuttered since 2020, according to the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform. The system says low birth volumes and difficulty hiring obstetricians and midwives prompted the decision.

If the center remains closed, the nearest alternatives for Stum—who lives 7 miles from Damariscotta—will be 35 to 45 minutes away. Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick is about 40 minutes for her, and Pen Bay Hospital in Rockport is similarly distant, a distance that could stretch longer in winter weather or during the summer tourist season.

“The community got short‑shrifted when it comes to labor and delivery services,” Baldacci said. “There is no legitimate health reason to do this.”

Grassroots Efforts and Political Context

A grassroots group, the Miles Delivers Action Coalition, launched a campaign earlier this year to keep the birthing center open. Stum joined the coalition in the spring, although the group is not a plaintiff in the lawsuit.

All three major candidates for governor—Democrat Hannah Pingree, Republican Bobby Charles and independent Rick Bennett—have urged MaineHealth to keep labor and delivery services at Lincoln Hospital open.

The Next Steps

MaineHealth’s spokesperson, John Porter, said the organization is reviewing the amended complaint and will respond through the court process. Meanwhile, Stum’s attorneys are preparing to argue that the court must issue a permanent injunction to halt the closure until the lawsuit is resolved.

If the court grants the injunction, MaineHealth would have to keep the birthing center operational while the case proceeds. If the injunction is denied, the center could close by the scheduled date, forcing patients in the region to drive to neighboring facilities for birth services.

The lawsuit, filed in the state’s Superior Court, is set to be heard by a judge in the coming weeks. The outcome will have implications for rural maternity care across Maine and could set a precedent for how hospitals handle closures that impact essential community services.