Update: The MaineHealth board voted Thursday to close Lincoln Hospital’s labor and delivery unit.
A Lincoln County Superior Court justice has denied a request for an emergency injunction to block a vote by the MaineHealth board on whether to close the labor and delivery unit at Lincoln Hospital in Damariscotta.
Justice Daniel Billings said the request assumes that the board will vote to close the center, and if that decision isn’t made, there is no claim.
Billings also said that the plaintiff, a pregnant Lincoln County woman due in January, failed to demonstrate how she would be irreparably injured “simply by a vote to close the center.” He said future court proceedings will be scheduled in due course.
Attorney Michael van der Veen, who represents the plaintiff, said his client will seek additional court action if the MaineHealth board votes to close the unit.
The health system is expected to announce the results of the vote Thursday afternoon.
This story appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.