Abortion Access in Maine

How rural populations, insurance coverage rates, and long drive times contribute to the inaccessibility of abortion services in Maine.

Percent of Women of Reproductive Age Uninsured (by state)

Percent of Women aged 15-44 Uninsured (by state)


Healthcare in Maine

Health insurance is a critical factor in ensuring that individuals receive medical care they need. According to the KKF (Kaiser Family Foundation), uninsured women not only have inadequate access to care, but also receive a lower standard of care and have poorer health outcomes when they are in the health system. The National Women’s Law Center found that 1 in 9 women of reproductive age were uninsured in 2019, meaning 8.1 million women were without coverage. The financial burden of paying for an abortion procedure on low-income and uninsured individuals can cause delays in care and can result in carrying an unwanted or unintended pregnancy to term.

Percent of Women aged 15-44 Uninsured (by state)

To address such financial burdens of the uninsured, Maine has an in-state abortion fund called  SAFE  (Safe Abortions For Everyone) for individuals who lack the ability to pay the cost of an abortion. There are also multiple other multi-state and national abortion funds like the  Laura Fund of Planned Parenthood Northern New England , the  National Abortion Federation Hotline , the  WRRAP  (Women’s Reproductive Rights Assistance Program), and for Indigenous and undocumented people, the  Indigenous Women Rising  abortion fund (further information can be found in the “Resources” tab). While these resources can increase abortion accessibility, not knowing about the existence or availability of these funds can prevent individuals from being able to afford an abortion.

The financial burden of having an abortion can also be sizeable for those with insurance. In 2019 the state of Maine passed  LB 820 , a bill requiring public and private insurance companies covering prenatal care to also to cover abortion care. While this bill drastically increased abortion accessibility, individuals often have to pay out-of-pocket fees as some private insurance companies apply abortion care costs towards deductibles. 


Maine is a Rural State

Major Population Centers in Maine

Maine is primarily a rural state with major population centers shaded.

Access to many forms of healthcare are limited because of the distance between individuals and health facilities and clinics. In rural Maine, there is often a lot of driving involved to access healthcare providers and facilities in more populated areas.


Abortion Clinics in Maine

Maine has 22 clinics that offer abortion services. Nineteen clinics provide only medication abortions which are only effective 8-11 weeks into the pregnancy, being less effective the later it’s administered. Only two clinics offer vacuum aspiration abortions, a service available 12-14 weeks into pregnancy. Only one clinic offers in-clinic medical abortions, which can be utilized until 19 weeks and 6 days into a pregnancy.

There is limited accessibility to later abortion care in Maine, with most clinics referring patients to far away facilities, sometimes out of state. Such barriers to abortion care after the first trimester can lead to even higher drive times and higher costs.

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Abortion Clinics in Maine

Legend


Drive Times

Only three facilities offer abortion services after 11 weeks into a pregnancy, and only the Planned Parenthood in Portland offers abortion services after 14 weeks. Physically getting to these three facilities can be a sizable barrier due to the long distances involved. Researchers have found traveling greater distances to access abortion care is associated with many challenges such as delays in accessing care, greater difficulties getting to a clinic, and higher costs (Young et al., 2021). The following maps show drive times to the three facilities: the Maine Family Planning in Augusta, the Mabel Wadsworth Center in Bangor, and the Planned Parenthood in Portland. The yellow indicates up to a 30 minute drive, the orange indicates up to an hour drive, and the red indicates up to a two hour drive.

Clinic Drive Times

Conclusion

Abortion accessibility in Maine is unique because of the state's size and rural population. With long drive times presenting a barrier for many individuals, expanding access to later abortion care should be a priority.


Resources

Find A Provider - National Abortion Federation

Abortion Facilities:

Maine Family Planning

Mabel Wadsworth Center

Planned Parenthood of Northern New England

Abortion Funds:

 SAFE  (Safe Abortions For Everyone)_____ Donate 

Works Cited

Find a provider. National Abortion Federation. (n.d.). Retrieved November 18, 2021, from https://prochoice.org/patients/find-a-provider/?fwp_country_search=united-states&fwp_state_search_united_states=me . 

Guttmacher Institute, Gains in Insurance Coverage for Reproductive-Age Women at a Crossroads https://www.guttmacher.org/article/2018/12/gains-insurance-coverage-reproductive-age-women-crossroads .

Nearly 10 Million Women Left Uninsured in 2019; Being a Woman Still Raised the Odds of Being Poor in America; and the Wage Gap for Black Women and Latinas Closed by One Penny. (2020, September 15). NWLC. https://nwlc.org/press-releases/in-2019-number-of-uninsured-women-spiked-to-10-million-being-a-woman-still-raised-the-odds-of-being-poor-in-america-and-the-wage-gap-for-black-women-and-latinas-closed-by-one-penny/. 

Published: Nov 08, 2021. (2021, November 8). Women's health insurance coverage. KFF. https://www.kff.org/other/fact-sheet/womens-health-insurance-coverage/. 

Young, Y.-Y., Bates, A., Burkett, D., Coplon, L., Irwin, A., Ruggiero, S., Sharpless, K. E., Chandrasekaran, S., Yanow, S., & Paul, M. (2021, August). Expanding access to later abortion care in Maine: Improving in-state clinic referral systems. Later Abortion Initiative. Retrieved November 18, 2021, from https://laterabortion.org/sites/default/files/lai_understanding_harmful_born-alive_bills.pdf. 

Percent of Women aged 15-44 Uninsured (by state)

Major Population Centers in Maine

Legend

Clinic Drive Times