Abortion In Maine
Abortion in Maine is legal. 64% of adults said in a poll by the Pew Research Center that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.
Terminology
The abortion debate most commonly relates to the "induced abortion" of an embryo or fetus at some point in a pregnancy, which is also how the term is used in a legal sense. Some also use the term "elective abortion", which is used in relation to a claim to an unrestricted right of a woman to an abortion, whether or not she chooses to have one. The term elective abortion or voluntary abortion describes the interruption of pregnancy before viability at the request of the woman, but not for medical reasons.
Anti-abortion advocates tend to use terms such as "unborn baby", "unborn child", or "pre-born child", and see the medical terms "embryo", "zygote", and "fetus" as dehumanizing. Both "pro-choice" and "pro-life" are examples of terms labeled as political framing: they are terms which purposely try to define their philosophies in the best possible light, while by definition attempting to describe their opposition in the worst possible light. "Pro-choice" implies that the alternative viewpoint is "anti-choice", while "pro-life" implies the alternative viewpoint is "pro-death" or "anti-life". The Associated Press encourages journalists to use the terms "abortion rights" and "anti-abortion".
Context
Free birth control correlates to teenage girls having fewer pregnancies and fewer abortions. A 2014 New England Journal of Medicine study found such a link. At the same time, a 2011 study by Center for Reproductive Rights and Ibis Reproductive Health also found that states with more abortion restrictions have higher rates of maternal death, higher rates of uninsured pregnant women, higher rates of infant and child deaths, higher rates of teen drug and alcohol abuse, and lower rates of cancer screening.
According to a 2017 report from the Center for Reproductive Rights and Ibis Reproductive Health, states that tried to pass additional constraints on a women's ability to access legal abortions had fewer policies supporting women's health, maternal health and children's health. These states also tended to resist expanding Medicaid, family leave, medical leave, and sex education in public schools. According to Megan Donovan, a senior policy manager at the Guttmacher Institute, states that have legislation seeking to protect a woman's right to access abortion services have the lowest rates of infant mortality in the United States.
Poor women in the United States had problems paying for menstrual pads and tampons in 2018 and 2019. Almost two-thirds of American women could not pay for them. These were not available through the federal Women, Infants, and Children Program (WIC). Lack of menstrual supplies has an economic impact on poor women. A study in St. Louis found that 36% had to miss days of work because they lacked adequate menstrual hygiene supplies during their period. This was on top of the fact that many had other menstrual issues including bleeding, cramps and other menstrual induced health issues. This state was one of a majority that taxed essential hygiene products like tampons and menstrual pads as of November 2018.
History
Legislative history
The first abortion related legislation was passed in the state in 1821. The second law was passed 19 years later in 1840. In 1857, RS 1857, c. 124, §§7, 8 was passed related to the concealment of birth and procuring of abortions. It would be another 14 years before a law on this same theme was passed. Only 8 years passed when in 1883, another law on concealment of birth and procuring of abortions was passed. Twenty more years would pass and then a new law on concealment of birth and procuring of abortions passed in 1903. By the end of the 1800s, all states in the Union except Louisiana had therapeutic exceptions in their legislative bans on abortions. In the 19th century, bans by state legislatures on abortion were about protecting the life of the mother given the number of deaths caused by abortions; state governments saw themselves as looking out for the lives of their citizens.
Abortion related legislation would again pass the legislature in 1907, 1909, 1916, 1921, 1930, 1935, 1943,1944, 1954, 1964, 1967 and 1969. Two abortion related bills were passed 1971, one LD 1373 "An Act Relating to Termination of Human Pregnancy by Therapeutic Abortion" and the other LD 1406 "An Act Relating to Termination of Human Pregnancy by Medical Decision".
In 1973, the year of the US Supreme Court Roe v. Wade ruling, 7 pieces of legislation related to abortion were passed. These included HP 857 "Joint Resolution Memorializing Congress to Call A Convention for the Purpose of Amending the United States Constitution Relative to Abortion", LD 887 "An Act Relating to Reporting of Data of Abortions Performed by an Attending Physician", LD 888 "An Act Prohibiting the Use and Sale of Human Fetus for Experimentation", LD 952 "An Act Relating to Discrimination Against Persons Who Refuse to Perform or Assist Abortions", LD 953 "An Act Relating to Immunity of Persons or Hospitals Refusing to Perform or Assist in Abortions", LD 1529 "An Act Regulating Abortion Procedures", and LD 1824 "An Act to Prevent Criminal Abortion Practices". In 1974, HP 1897 a "Joint Order Commending the Pro-Life Education Association" was passed.
Maine passed abortion related legislation in 1993 that said women have the right to "terminate a pregnancy before viability." Abortions need to be performed by a licensed physician. After the point where a fetus is viable, a pregnancy can only be terminated if the life of the mother is at risk. The state was one of 10 states in 2007 to have a customary informed consent provision for abortions. In August 2018, the state had a law to protect the right to have an abortion. As of May 14, 2019, the state prohibited abortions after the fetus was viable, generally some point between week 24 and 28. This period uses a standard defined by the US Supreme Court in 1973 with the Roe v. Wade ruling.
Judicial history
The US Supreme Court's decision in 1973's Roe v. Wade ruling meant the state could no longer regulate abortion in the first trimester.
Clinic history
Between 1982 and 1992, the number of abortion clinics in the state decreased by 33, going from 39 in 1982 to 17 in 1992. In 2014, there were 4 abortion clinics in the state. In 2014, 81% of the counties in the state did not have an abortion clinic. That year, 55% of women in the state aged 15 – 44 lived in a county without an abortion clinic. In March 2016, there were 4 Planned Parenthood clinics in the state. In 2017, there were 4 Planned Parenthood clinics in a state with a population of 278,104 women aged 15 – 49 of which 1 offered abortion services.
Statistics
In the period between 1972 and 1974, there was only zero recorded illegal abortion death in the state. In 1990, 143,000 women in the state faced the risk of an unintended pregnancy. In 2010, the state had 15 publicly funded abortions, of which were 15 federally funded. In 2013, among white women aged 15–19, there were abortions 280, 10 abortions for black women aged 15–19, 0 abortions for Hispanic women aged 15–19, and 10 abortions for women of all other races. In 2014, 64% of adults said in a poll by the Pew Research Center that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. In 2017, the state had an infant mortality rate of 5.7 deaths per 1,000 live births.
| Census division and state | Number | Rate | % change 1992–1996 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 1995 | 1996 | 1992 | 1995 | 1996 | ||
| Total | 1,528,930 | 1,363,690 | 1,365,730 | 25.9 | 22.9 | 22.9 | –12 |
| New England | 78,360 | 71,940 | 71,280 | 25.2 | 23.6 | 23.5 | –7 |
| Connecticut | 19,720 | 16,680 | 16,230 | 26.2 | 23 | 22.5 | –14 |
| Maine | 4,200 | 2,690 | 2,700 | 14.7 | 9.6 | 9.7 | –34 |
| Massachusetts | 40,660 | 41,190 | 41,160 | 28.4 | 29.2 | 29.3 | 3 |
| New Hampshire | 3,890 | 3,240 | 3,470 | 14.6 | 12 | 12.7 | –13 |
| Rhode Island | 6,990 | 5,720 | 5,420 | 30 | 25.5 | 24.4 | –19 |
| Location | Residence | Occurrence | % obtained by
out-of-state residents |
Year | Ref | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Rate^ | Ratio^^ | No. | Rate^ | Ratio^^ | ||||
| Maine | 1,939 | 8.3 | 153 | 2,021 | 8.6 | 159 | 3.6 | 2014 | |
| Maine | 1,743 | 7.5 | 138 | 1,836 | 7.9 | 146 | 3.1 | 2015 | |
| Maine | 1,937 | 8.4 | 152 | 2,021 | 8.7 | 159 | 3.5 | 2016 | |
| ^number of abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44; ^^number of abortions per 1,000 live births | |||||||||
Abortion rights views and activities
Protests
Women from the state participated in marches supporting abortion rights as part of a #StoptheBans movement in May 2019.
Views
Women in Film Executive Director Kirsten Schaffer said of Georgia and other states similar restrictive abortion bans passed in early 2019, "A woman's right to make choices about her own body is fundamental to her personal and professional well-being. [...] We support people who make the choice not to take their production to Georgia or take a job in Georgia because of the draconian anti-choice law. To that end, we've compiled a list of pro-choice states that offer meaningful tax rebates and production incentives, and encourage everyone to explore these alternatives: California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Washington."
Footnotes
- ^ According to the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade:
Likewise, Black's Law Dictionary defines abortion as "knowing destruction" or "intentional expulsion or removal".(a) For the stage prior to approximately the end of the first trimester, the abortion decision and its effectuation must be left to the medical judgement of the pregnant woman's attending physician. (b) For the stage subsequent to approximately the end of the first trimester, the State, in promoting its interest in the health of the mother, may, if it chooses, regulate the abortion procedure in ways that are reasonably related to maternal health. (c) For the stage subsequent to viability, the State in promoting its interest in the potentiality of human life may, if it chooses, regulate, and even proscribe, abortion except where it is necessary, in appropriate medical judgement, for the preservation of the life or health of the mother.