“Maine voters said loudly and clearly on November 5: We value reproductive rights. We value LGBDTQ+ rights. We want elected leaders who will fight to protect our rights and access to care, no matter what,” said Lisa Margulies, Esq., Vice President of Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood Maine Action Fund.in a press release issued today.
“Mainers have a long history of voting to protect and expand access to abortion and related care What we saw in this election is a continuation of that tradition. After voters elected a pro-reproductive rights majority months after Dobbs in 2022, lawmakers acted to expand access to abortion throughout pregnancy, decriminalize abortion, make abortion care more affordabale for Mainers with insurance, and protect providers of this care from attacks based on other states’ laws.
With an incoming presidential administration hostile to reproductiive health care, it is critical that lawmakers take immediate action to fund the state’s planning network so that Maine can continue to access services including cancer screenings, STI treatments and birth control.
We know that the ultimate goal of our opponents is control over our bodies, our health care and our futures. Abortion is health care. Gender-affirming care is health care. Preventive reproductive health care is essential to our wellbeing. It is imperative that our elected leaders take swift action to ensure Maine’s family planning infrastructure is able to weather incoming attacks and reproductive heath care providers can continue to serve every Mainer who needs care, no matter what,” her remarks concluded.
With the reality of a second Trump presidency upon us, the issue is of critical significance. That’s because Maine family planning providers expect a sigificant federal funding cut could imperil access to care at the state level, Maine lawmakers have an opportunity to reaffirm their commitment to reproductive rights and access to sexual and reproductive health care by actions to protect the state’s critical health care safety net against these anti-abortion attacks. Maine lawmakers have the ability to pass state-level funding legislation that will help ensure Maine’s family planning providers can oversee anticipated funding cuts from an incoming Trump administration and continue offering care to every Mainer who needs it said the press release in part.