NIRH Commends Enactment of Maine Bill Expanding Abortion Coverage

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 13, 2019
Contact: Noah Gardy, [email protected]

Governor Janet Mills Signs Bill Requiring Medicaid and Private Insurers to Cover Abortion Services

MAINE – Andrea Miller, President of the National Institute for Reproductive Health (NIRH), released the following statement hailing enactment of legislation in Maine requiring Medicaid and private insurers to cover abortion services. L.D. 820, “Discrimination in Public and Private Insurance Coverage,” signed today by Governor Mills, counters discrimination of abortion coverage based on insurance coverage and income level. It comes in the wake of the 2018 midterm elections, when candidates who support reproductive freedom swept into the Maine Senate and governorship. The passage of L.D. 820 also comes on the heels of a proactive bill signed by Gov. Mills earlier this week, expanding abortion access by allowing more qualified health care providers to offer abortion care. Today’s enactment of L.D. 820 marks another point on the trend of proactive legislation passed to protect or expand abortion access, as we’ve seen in Illinois, Vermont, New Jersey, Nevada, and New York, among others.

“Maine’s motto is ‘I lead,’ and today they proved that by taking the momentous step to expand abortion access for residents across the state, particularly for women of color and in low-income communities,” said Andrea Miller, president of the National Institute for Reproductive Health. “In the face of unprecedented attacks on abortion access from hostile state legislatures and an anti-abortion White House, enactment of L.D. 820 reflects more than the work of a few individuals, it’s a testament to the power of elections and voters’ decision to vote for a pro-choice Senate and Governor. Access to reproductive health care should never be defined by who you are or how much you make, and I applaud the Maine Legislature and Governor Mills for making this idea a reality.”

For more than a decade, NIRH has been a leader in the fight to advance reproductive freedom across the country. Recently, they were integral to the successful effort to repeal an outdated criminal abortion ban in Massachusetts, and they led the fight to pass New York’s landmark Reproductive Health Act. Earlier this year, NIRH published a report tracking the passage of more than 100 bills to advance reproductive health, rights, and justice in 27 states and the District of Columbia (D.C.).

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The National Institute for Reproductive Health builds power at the state and local level to change public policy, galvanize public support, and normalize women’s decisions about abortion and contraception.

Using a partnership model, NIRH provides state and local advocates with strategic guidance, hands-on support, and funding to create national change from the ground up. We form strategic partnerships with a wide range of organizations to directly impact the reproductive health and lives of women across the country. Each year, NIRH works in at least 20 states and more than a dozen localities; to date, NIRH has partnered with more than 170 reproductive health, rights, and justice organizations in 43 states and 64 localities across the country.