Governor Janet Mills, Maine’s first woman governor, issued the following statement in the wake of a report from POLITICO tonight revealing that the U.S. Supreme Court has voted to overturn Roe v. Wade:
“There are countless women across Maine and America who are worried right now – worried that their right to a safe and legal abortion is near its end; worried about what that uncertainty could mean for their health, their lives, and their futures; and worried about what this draft decision says about the values of our nation and their place in it.
“Well, I want to be very clear: unlike an apparent majority of the Supreme Court, I do not consider the rights of women to be dispensable. And I pledge that as long as I am Governor, I will fight with everything I have to protect reproductive rights and to preserve access to reproductive health care in the face of every and any threat to it – whether from politicians in Augusta or Supreme Court Justices in Washington.”
Under Governor Mills’ leadership, Maine has not only protected but expanded access to reproductive health care. The Governor, in collaboration with the Legislature, enacted a law allowing physician assistants and advanced practice registered nurses to perform abortions. She also signed legislation to require private and public insurance providers to cover abortion care.