Family Planning Association of Maine

A Maine Tradition

In 1971, the Family Planning Association of Maine (FPA) was founded by a group of individuals dedicated to the proposition that every Maine woman should have equal access to high-quality reproductive health services. Through their tireless efforts, sometimes against great odds, the FPA's founders created a force for statewide family planning.

Two Mainers who played a central role in the FPA's creation, David and Sherry Huber, went on to advocate for reproductive freedom as members of the Maine Legislature. Myrna Daigle opened the first family planning clinic in Aroostook County and Mabel Sine Wadsworth started the first family planning clinic in Maine to offer contraceptives.

A Commitment to Family Planning Services

The Family Planning Association of Maine provides funding, technical support and quality assurance to 45 clinics statewide, serving over 30,000 women and teens annually. The FPA itself operates clinics in Augusta, Belfast, Damariscotta and Rockland, which provide various health care services including: oral and injectable contraceptives, emergency contraceptives, screening, diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infections, and breast and cervical cancer screening.

A Commitment to Comprehensive Sexuality Education and Evidence-Based Prevention Programs

The FPA promotes evidence-based programs that are age-appropriate, designed to meet the needs of the community, and result in positive behavior changes among youth.

A comprehensive approach prepares students for their evolving sexuality by educating them about the risks of STI/HIV transmission and unintended pregnancy and impressing upon them the value and importance of abstinence. In addition, a comprehensive sexuality education curriculum includes units on puberty, anatomy and physiology of the reproductive system, as well as negotiation, refusal, and communication skills all aimed at helping Maine's young people make healthier choices.

A Commitment to Reproductive Freedom

In 1997, the Family Planning Association of Maine addressed an unmet need by designing and developing an abortion service for Central Maine women. Before its creation, nine out of ten women living in the eight-county area, Androscoggin, Oxford, Franklin, Somerset, Kennebec, Waldo, Lincoln and Knox, seeking abortion care had to travel up to three hours to secure the service, either in Portland or Bangor.

In 2004, the FPA purchased Women's Community Health Center in South Portland to expand accessibility to abortion care in Southern Maine. In order to ensure that abortions will always be available in Maine, the FPA collaborates with the Maine/Dartmouth Family Practice Residency Program to offer the only training program in Northern New England for physicians interested in learning the procedure.

A Commitment to Maintaining Reproductive Freedom

The FPA maintains a full-time public affairs department responsible for working with pro-family planning and pro-choice organizations committed to advancing the cause of reproductive freedom in Maine. The Association played a leading role in defeating the 1999 Abortion Ban Referendum as a member of the NO on 1 Coalition and in passing legislation in 1995 that codified the tenets of Roe v. Wade into state law. FPA works on a host of progressive family planning policies that translate into concrete benefits for Maine women and teens.