After Friday's Supreme Court ruling, independent public abortion providers in Maine are preparing for the possibility that more people will come here seeking access.
The Mabel Wadsworth Center in Bangor is the northern-most clinic on the East Coast that provides public abortion services. It's a long way to drive for those who live in states without abortion access, said Abbie Strout-Bentes, the center's director of community engagement.
"There's going to be so many people that need to travel for care, that people will likely come to our clinic as well," she said. "We want to get word out that we're there."
The center once saw more Canadians seeking abortion care than people from other states in the U.S. But Strout-Bentes expects that will soon change.
"We have heard from experts that they think if people fly for care they'll go to places where they have community, where they have family or friends," she said. "We very well could be a destination for some folks traveling from other states, and so we're prepared to increase the number of days that we provide abortion care based on the demand."
The center will also add more telehealth services, so it can increase access to medication abortion at the clinic, Strout-Bentes said.
Abortion remains legal in Maine. But because the November election will have a major influence over Maine's abortion laws, Strout-Bentes said the center will expand its get-out-the-vote efforts in the Bangor area as well.
