The BDN Opinion section operates independently and does not set news policies or contribute to reporting or editing articles elsewhere in the newspaper or on bangordailynews.com
Abbie Strout-Bentes is the executive director of Safe Abortion For Everyone (SAFE) Maine. Hannah Matthews is the author of the book “ You or Someone You Love: Reflections of An Abortion Doula”. She serves on SAFE’s board of directors.
As we enter a new year — and as our health insurance deductibles, unfortunately, reset to $0 — Mainers have much to celebrate. We also have much to mourn, as a state, and much that we must continue to protect and fight for.
We come to you as two lifelong Mainers, mourning and celebrating with our communities just like you. We are writing as two mothers of young children, two people who work with other Mainers from every part of our beautiful state, and as a board member and the executive director of SAFE, Maine’s only statewide abortion fund.
We are, also, two people who have had abortions in Maine.
Our experiences were very different, of course, because — like Mainers and snowflakes — no two abortions are alike. One of us was young, her whole adult life ahead of her, while the other was in her 30s, already married and a mother. One of us had private health insurance, while the other was still on her parents’ plan.
But for both of us, just like for the majority of Mainers, the out-of-pocket cost of this safe and common health care meant the difference between paying our monthly bills and falling behind; between making ends meet and relying on others’ assistance; between keeping food on the table and struggling to make sure that everyone we love was fed.
Maine law currently requires private insurances to cover comprehensive pregnancy care, but many health plans require that Mainers pay out-of-pocket for abortion care until their deductibles are met. These policies most severely affect Mainers with the fewest financial resources, of course. While SAFE is working around the clock to help offset these costs, we must acknowledge that essential health care, like abortion, is not always affordable nor accessible for Mainers and their families.
But today, we can celebrate a step forward in addressing affordability and accessibility of abortion care with a new law, LD 935, taking effect. This law, passed last legislative session, prohibits insurers from requiring patients to meet deductibles before the plans pay out for this essential and time-sensitive health care.
Few people have the savings to afford a medical emergency or an unexpected medical bill.
Those costs can mean a month’s rent, a car payment, an incremental push closer to poverty. For one of us, an earlier passage of LD 935 would have ensured that the more than $500 would not have needed to come straight from her threadbare family savings account, from urgently needed car repairs and rising grocery bills, from reserves earmarked for baby formula and secondhand clothing for her rapidly growing toddler.
The other one of us, reliant on her parents, would have faced a barrier still common in our state: the process of seeking and receiving reproductive health care is confidential, but the insurance statements mailed to policyholders often list the individual medical services someone has received. This presents safety and privacy risks for anyone who shares an insurance plan. There are many reasons we keep our abortion care private. Sometimes it is a matter of life and death, a matter of safety and survival. Regardless of your reason, this is part of why local abortion funds, like SAFE, remain essential.
Mainers still face many barriers to abortion access. Transportation, getting time off work (and wages lost, even if one does receive time off), and childcare are the most commonly named obstacles. In addition, the cultural shame and stigma which can necessitate keeping information about a pregnancy secret or private can amplify the barriers, leaving already-vulnerable Mainers isolated and without anyone to turn to for support.
Laws like LD 935 are a step toward the health care landscape we need and deserve, but we’re not there yet. SAFE Maine will continue our work in 2024 and beyond, supporting Mainers with and without health insurance as they seek and receive the health care they need. We hope you’ll join us.