Sen. Pierce bill to increase funding for Maine Family Planning earns initial Senate approval
AUGUSTA – On Thursday, LD 1478, “An Act to Improve Women’s Health and Economic Security by Funding Family Planning Services,” earned the initial support of the Maine Senate. This bill, sponsored by Sen. Teresa S. Pierce, D-Falmouth, would supplement expiring federal funding to critical health care services provided around the state. The bill was passed 19-12 on party lines.
“Maine Family Planning has helped countless Mainers over the last half-century get access to health care. This organization provides care far beyond what is traditionally considered to be part of ‘family planning’ services, including life-saving cancer screenings,” said Sen. Pierce. “Uncertainty at the federal level due to a number of court decisions in just the past year threaten the resources available. I am grateful to my Democratic colleagues for their support of these essential health care services.”
LD 1478, as amended, would provide ongoing funding of $3,390,000 in each year of the next two fiscal years to be distributed by the Department of Health and Human Services to Maine Family Planning — which is a statewide, not-for-profit organization — to provide management and oversight of the delivery of family planning services. Maine Family Planning was founded more than 50 years ago to ensure access to the full range of family health services for Maine people, regardless of their ability to pay.
In 2022, 35,849 people were served by Maine’s Family Planning Network, which comprises 61 care sites. Services funded by the State of Maine and the federal government include: contraceptive care; screening, diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infections; screening, treatment or referral for cervical cancer; breast cancer screening; pregnancy testing; intrauterine insemination; vasectomy; behavioral health; and primary care.
“Access to family planning services is crucial to economic self-determination and an ability to fully participate in a democratic society for those who might become pregnant. Yet Maine has seen funding for family planning services stagnate for the past decade,” said Meagan Sway, Policy Director at the ACLU of Maine, in public hearing testimony supporting the bill. “With inflation and rising costs, this means that access to reproductive health care is less available, with some clinics only able to open one day a week. This committee has the opportunity to rectify this by passing increased funding for reproductive health care services in our state.”
The bill faces additional votes in the Senate and House.
