Reproductive care providers in Maine are warning that looming cuts to state and federal funding will reduce access to health care.
During a virtual press conference Tuesday, Advocates raised concerns about possible cuts to funding for family planning services other than abortion, and about federal Medicaid restrictions that Planned Parenthood of Northern New England calls a "back door abortion ban.”
Charlie Hartman, a patient advocate from Vassalboro, shared her personal experience of a medically necessary abortion and her fears that these services might be taken away.
"Just thinking about this is very painful and I am thankful I was not put in a position in which I was not allowed to do what the doctor recommended. No one should be required to go through a pregnancy," Hartman said.
Planned Parenthood of Northern New England CEO Nicole Clegg said if the federal budget is signed into law as it is today, 30% of her patients insured by Medicaid could not longer be served.
"We are being squeezed in every way possible by the federal government and Republicans in Congress to really eliminate our ability to provide care," Clegg said.
Clegg and Maine Family Planning CEO George Hill both warned that even with full funding at the state level, the expected cuts to Medicaid would limit their services.
