Maine Leads the Way in Providing More People Access to Abortions

In case you missed it, two important laws were passed in Maine recently.

In a long-awaited correction of an antiquated law, Governor Mills signed Speaker Gideon's bill (LD 1261) into law that will allow advanced practice clinicians such as nurse practitioners, physicians' assistants, etc. to join medical doctors in providing abortion care to patients statewide. This means that women seeking abortions will not have to wait until specific days or travel to far-away locations just to see doctors for specialized care. Essentially, this broadens the availability of care to more women, regardless of the flexibility of their schedule or the location of their home.

In addition to the above law broadening the availability of abortion care, LD 820 was also passed, guaranteeing insurance coverage - including Medicaid and MaineCare coverage - of abortion. This means women who have private or public health insurance will have access to the care they need, no matter how much money they make.

Maine is the 16th state to include abortion care under services covered by public funds.