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SUPPORT LD 1309 and LD 137

Fair and Equal Access to Abortion Services: LD 1309.

Women should not be denied their constitutional right to reproductive health care because they lack private insurance. Without abortion coverage, poor women and couples may be forced to continue an unwanted pregnancy or make significant sacrifices to be able to pay for abortion services, including scraping together money typically used for food, rent, clothing, childcare, or other necessities. These are choices that no woman should be forced to make and are particularly burdensome for the poorest among us.

This year, Maine is poised to join those 17 other states that have already created a more equitable system. LD 1309, An Act To Provide Equity in Funding for Women's Health Services, sponsored by Senate President Beth Edmonds, House Speaker Glenn Cummings, House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, and 30 other Republican and Democratic legislators, offers public funding for MaineCare-eligible women seeking abortion services. Click this link to read the bill.

LD 1309: Contact Committee Members!

LD 1309 is up for a vote in the Health and Human Services Committee. Contact committee members and urge them to vote Ought To Pass

Protection for Maine Women and Girls: LD 137

The Family Planning Association of Maine believes the best way to protect women from cervical cancer is preventive action and greater awareness of the disease:

• Ensure the Human Papillomavirus (or HPV) vaccine is available to all young women, regardless of income, before they are at risk for infection. Gardasil is the first vaccine that prevents a form of cancer.

• Raise awareness, particularly among low-income women and ethnic minorities about HPV and cervical cancer.

• Expand MaineCare coverage for family planning services to give more women access to critical prevention and screening services.

Gardasil is a genuine breakthrough. It prevents two kinds of Human Papillomavirus that cause 70 percent of cervical cancer cases. Some 11,000 women a year in the U.S. are diagnosed with cervical cancer; nearly 4,000 die.

Most insurers cover the series of 3 shots, and the Centers for Disease Control put it on the list of vaccines for children that the government will pay for. Though the vaccine is expensive, it's more cost-effective than treating cervical cancer – and saves lives!

LD 137, An Act to Enact the Recommendations of the Task Force to Study Cervical Cancer Prevention, Detection and Education, is sponsored by Sen. Lisa Marraché (D-Waterville). This bill does not mandate vaccinations but it will:

• Increase access to the detection and treatment of cervical cancer for low-income women.

• Provide funding for the HPV vaccine for low-income women and girls.

• Raise public awareness of cervical cancer with particular outreach to ethnic and racial minorities

If passed, the state will send a clear and resounding message that it is committed to preventing cervical cancer among all Maine women. Click here to read the text of the bill!

LD 137: Contact Committee Members!

The Health and Human Services Committee held a public hearing for LD 137 on April 30 and will vote soon. Contact members of the Committee and urge them to vote Ought to Pass on LD 137.

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