Maine lawmakers are considering a bill designed to provide financial support for reproductive and sexual health providers in the state amidst efforts at the federal level to restrict the flow of taxpayer dollars to abortion providers.
According to the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Amy Kuhn (D-Falmouth), LD 335 is “intended to protect Maine patients and their access to health care regardless of political attacks,” referring to recent federal actions targeting abortion providers.
Under this bill, state funds would be used to fill in any gaps created by reduced or restricted federal funding.
Effective retroactively to July 1, 2025, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) would be required to cover “family planning services” for patients on MaineCare if their chosen provider becomes ineligible for Medicaid reimbursement under federal law.
This bill also preemptively seeks to respond to any future restrictions on funding provided under Title X, a federal grant program dedicated to supporting and improving access to family planning services, particularly for low-income individuals, that was signed into law by former President Richard Nixon in 1970.
Should Title X funding be limited, Maine DHHS would be required to provide state funding to the grantee. This would also be the case if a grantee withdraws from Title X due to the “imposition of conditions attached to the funding.”
LD 335 would also allocate $5 million annually to the Fund to Maintain Access to Statewide Family Planning Services for distribution to a single grantee under 22 M.R.S. § 3196, a state statute requiring Maine to cover abortion services that are not federally approved for Medicaid funding.
Testifying before the Legislature’s Health and Human Services (HHS) Committee this week, Rep. Kuhn criticized the federal government’s recent actions concerning abortion providers and urged Maine lawmakers to push back against federal restrictions.
“While a national abortion ban has not yet passed, abortion opponents recognize that state abortion rights are only as effective as access to care,” said Kuhn. “Put bluntly, if providers are forced to close their doors, this body’s hard work to shore up our state laws is an empty promise.”
“Abortion opponents are now targeting our state — and in fact all states where abortion remains legal — by attacking our health care providers and attempting to shut their doors,” she said.
“These attacks are damaging in many ways, to many people, across the country, but would have a particularly acute impact in Maine, where our reproductive health care network is the backbone of our fragile health care system and locus for not only reproductive health care services, but also primary and behavioral health services,” Kuhn said.
Click Here to Read Rep. Kuhn’s Full Testimony
Testifying in opposition to LD 335 was a representative from Maine Right to Life who argued that taxpayer dollars should not be used to support organizations that “directly or indirectly participate in ending innocent human life.”
“While supporters characterize this bill as merely ‘family planning,’ experience shows that broad funding streams often subsidize or indirectly support entities that provide abortion or refer for abortion, contrary to the value of protecting life at all stages,” the pro-life group said.
The organization went on to suggest that the state invest in “maternity care, adoption support, and parenting services that affirm life and strengthen families” instead of “further subsidizing reproductive health providers.”
Maine Right to Life also advocated for alternative measures such as “programs that prevent unintended pregnancies through education and support without incentivizing or subsidizing abortion-related entities.” The group further recommended backing “direct support for mothers and children, including prenatal care, childcare accessibility, and economic assistance.”
Concerns were also raised regarding accountability and transparency, as the group suggested that this bill “would continue an alarming precedent in Maine Leadership to pick winners and losers by funding one entity.”
“Taxpayer support for such organizations diminishes the value of human life and is morally objectionable to many Mainers,” the organization concluded.
Click Here to Read Maine Right to Life’s Full Testimony
Following this week’s public hearing, the HHS Committee is expected to schedule a work session on LD 335 in the coming weeks.
Not with my money