Governor Mills joins multi-state coalition to protect abortion access nationwide

Joining the Reproductive Freedom Alliance follows Mills’ January announcement of key reproductive healthcare legislative priorities in Maine

(Portland, MAINE) – Governor Janet Mills joined her counterparts in 17 states today in announcing the Reproductive Freedom Alliance, a coalition focused on protecting and expanding reproductive freedom throughout the United States. Governors founding the alliance represent 167 million people.

The nonpartisan alliance is the largest of its type ever assembled, according to a statement released by Mills’ office Tuesday. Founding members have committed to work collaboratively to expand reproductive rights in their states and to fight efforts to restrict access to abortion and other forms of reproductive healthcare.

“In the last year alone, over 36 million women have lost access to critical health care with the overturning of Roe v. Wade,” the governors said in a statement. “Medication abortion — one of the safest forms of health care for decades now — may be stripped from our clinics and hospitals nationwide. Doctors face criminal prosecution for providing care. Extremists are trying to restrict access to contraception – and we know they won’t stop there. In the face of this unprecedented assault by states hostile to abortion rights and their enablers in the courts, we are pledging to work together to strengthen abortion firewalls across America. This fight isn’t over.”

Tuesday’s announcement comes just over a month after Mills and top Democratic lawmakers announced key legislative priorities aimed at protecting and expanding abortion access in Maine. The proposed bills would ensure medical providers can offer the care their patients need, when they need it throughout a pregnancy, remove criminal penalties from current law, and increase affordability of abortion care.

Republican lawmakers in Maine have proposed legislation in line with their party’s anti-abortion platform that would force medical professionals to provide inaccurate information to their patients, restrict access to abortion through telehealth for rural Mainers, and erect barriers to care that will result in delayed care through repealing a current law prohibiting public insurance from denying coverage of abortion for low-income Mainers.

Statement from Nicole Clegg, Chief Strategy and Impact Officer, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England:

“We applaud Governor Mills and her colleagues for continuing their work to protect and expand abortion access in Maine and throughout the country.

Our rights and freedoms are under attack, and we need our elected officials to stand up to the vocal minority of extremists who want to take away our rights. Governor Mills has always been an ally to our movement, and, since Dobbs, she has proven her commitment to protecting the people of Maine, anyone who travels here for an abortion, and the providers who care for their patients.

In November, Mainers were clear: We don’t want political actors interfering with private medical decisions. We value our rights and freedoms, and we will continue to stand up, show up and demand those who we elect to represent us demonstrate with action their commitment to ensuring no one has to go without the care they need, when they need it.”

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Planned Parenthood Maine Action Fund is an independent, nonpartisan, not-for-profit membership organization formed as the advocacy and political arm of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England in Maine. PPNNE has four health centers in Maine and sees more than 12,000 patients a year.