After Sen. Susan Collins’ vote to confirm Matthew Byrne to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio this past week, advocates are contrasting her actions on abortion rights with her claims about where she stands — and with the actions of her opponent, former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson. “[Jackson has] been…
Mainers observed the fourth anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health decision last week, as the Planned Parenthood Action Fund announced earlier this month that they were endorsing Graham Platner in his race for U.S. Senate. “Mainers deserve a senator they can trust to have their backs at every turn. It…
Earlier this week, Maine lawmakers voted down a series of Republican-led bills that aimed to put new restrictions on abortion. The Maine House rejected six proposals Monday night, including bills that would have limited access to abortion medication, criminalized abortion later in pregnancy, and repealed coverage for abortion under MaineCare. Lisa Margulies, vice president of…
This week on the podcast, Lisa Margulies from Planned Parenthood Maine Action Fund joins Cate to break down the serious threats in Pres. Donald Trump’s federal budget reconciliation bill. The proposal would block Planned Parenthood from participating in Medicaid (MaineCare), cutting off care for more than 1.1 million people. This could mean closing nearly 200…
Leaders from Planned Parenthood of Northern New England (PPNNE) held a virtual press event Friday to condemn a draft federal budget proposal that seeks to “defund” Planned Parenthood and drastically cut Medicaid access — a move that could impact more than 365,000 Mainers who rely on the program for health coverage. “This is abortion opponents’…
Politicians opposed to Mainers’ and Americans’ reproductive rights are relentless in their attacks on our access to health care, both at the federal and state level. Just this past week the Trump Administration announced it is withholding federal funds for family planning care in states across the country including Maine and New Hampshire. Meanwhile, anti-abortion…
On a Thursday morning in mid-October, Abbie Strout-Bentes, executive director of SAFE Maine, sat in a small room in a shared office space in Augusta. The room lingered in a state of unpacking, cardboard boxes stacked in a corner. The walls were relatively bare, save for a few framed images: a floral print of reproductive…
Health clinics in Maine and elsewhere are coping with a sharp uptick in requests for long-acting contraceptives in the wake of the election. Planned Parenthood centers in New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont report more than double their weekly average appointment inquiries for intrauterine devices – or IUD’s – and the birth control implant. Planned Parenthood…
This week on the podcast, Cate is joined by Lisa Margulies, the vice president of Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood Maine Action Fund. Lisa discusses the potential impacts of a Trump presidency and Republican Congress on reproductive health, as well as how state funding for family planning providers can mitigate this impact. The need for…
This week on the podcast, Esther Pew is joined by an impressive array of Maine LGBTQ and reproductive rights experts to discuss the implementation of the state’s new shield law, protecting health care providers and patients from investigation and prosecution by authorities in other states. The panel includes Mary Bonauto with GLBTQ Legal Advocates &…