Unequal Access is Unequal Justice: Maine's Two-Tiered System of Reproductive Health Care
UPDATE: In June 2019, Gov. Mills signed a bill into law that requires all insurance policies that cover prenatal care, including MaineCare, to also cover abortion care.
MaineCare withholds coverage for abortion from eligible patients, but will cover a full range of pregnancy-related care for people who choose to carry their pregnancies to term.
The Mainers impacted by this policy are, by definition, low-income. For many of them, the denial of funding for an abortion causes them to delay their abortions, at a potential risk to their health. Some people skip necessary expenses such as food, rent or heat in order to save enough to pay for abortion care. Since the majority of people who have abortions already have a child at home, this means entire families may suffer. Still other people have been forced to carry their pregnancies to term.
This report details the consequences of Maine's discriminatory, unequal access to abortion care.
Related Issues
Documents
Related content
Gov. Mills Signs Legislation to Require Insurance Coverage for...
June 13, 2019
Mabel Wadsworth Women's Health Center et al. v. Lambrew
November 24, 2015ACLU and Health Care Providers File Lawsuit to Restore MaineCare...
November 24, 2015ACLU and Abortion Providers in Maine Supreme Court Today to...
May 16, 2018
Gov. Mills Signs Bill to Expand and Protect Abortion Access
July 19, 2023
Bill to Expand Abortion Access Heads to Gov. Mills for Signature
July 6, 2023Protect and Expand Abortion Access

This Week, Anti-Abortion Extremists Showed Us Who They Really Are
May 19, 2023