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
Related Content
Gov. Mills Signs Legislation to Require Insurance Coverage for Abortion Care
Issue Areas:
Reproductive Freedom
Mabel Wadsworth Women's Health Center v. Lambrew - Abortion Access
Maine banned coverage for abortion care for people insured by MaineCare. We sued because a person’s wealth should never determine their reproductive freedom. We dropped the case after Gov. Mills signed LD 820, requiring public and private insurance plans that cover prenatal care to also cover abortion care.
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