Ellen Taraschi, a nurse practitioner with Maine Family Planning, speaks at a press conference at the State House on Thursday in support of a bill to increase funding for family planning services. Rachel Ohm/staff writer.

AUGUSTA — Democratic lawmakers and reproductive health care advocates are calling for an increase in state funding for family planning services that they say is needed to meet demand, rising costs and potential federal cuts.

A bill sponsored by Sen. Majority Leader Teresa Pierce, D-Falmouth, and co-sponsored by all five of the other Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives and Senate, would provide $6.18 million in new state funding annually for family planning services.

LD 143 would pay for testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, birth control, cancer screenings, gynecological care, vaccinations, gender-affirming care and behavioral health services. It would not pay for abortions.

“Despite the overwhelming need for high-quality, sustainable sexual and reproductive health care to meet Mainers’ public health needs, the state’s family planning funding has been stalled for the last decade,” said George Hill, president and CEO of Maine Family Planning, the nonprofit that currently administers state funds for family planning services.

“Meanwhile, health care costs are rising and the demand for care is increasing, yet fiscal constraints hamper patients’ ability to access the care they need.”

The funds in the bill would build upon $978,000 annually the state currently provides to support Maine Family Planning, an amount the group says has been unchanged for years and that covers only a fraction of their costs. Maine Family Planning uses the money to subcontract services with a network of clinics, health centers. 

A similar bill introduced in 2023 that would have raised annual funding levels by $3.4 million received initial approval from lawmakers but failed to get enacted last year.

The Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee will hold a public hearing on this year’s bill on Monday at 10 a.m.

Some opponents have argued against the bill in written testimony on grounds they don’t want to see the funding pay for abortions, though lawmakers and supporters of the bill said at a press conference Thursday that the funding would not go to abortions.

Advocates have expressed concerns, meanwhile, that federal support for family planning services could decrease under President Donald Trump.

During the first Trump administration, Maine Family Planning and Planned Parenthood of Northern New England withdrew from a federal program dedicated to funding affordable birth control and reproductive health care over an administration rule that prohibited grantees from referring clients for abortion services or having co-located family planning and abortion services. The Biden administration reversed the rule in 2021.

The U.S. House of Representatives also recently passed a budget resolution that threatens significant cuts to Medicaid, which many family planning network patients in Maine rely on, and cuts that could increase demand for free and reduced cost services.

Pierce, the bill sponsor, said tens of thousands of Mainers currently receive services through the state’s family planning network regardless of their ability to pay, and that many people who receive care through the network wouldn’t otherwise have access.

“As lawmakers in Augusta, it is our duty to ensure everyone has access to the basic health care they need to thrive,” Pierce said.

Pierce acknowledged that lawmakers have been warned by Gov. Janet Mills’ administration that the state is facing a tight budget environment, but said an increase in the funding is long overdue. Spokespeople for Mills did not immediately respond to an inquiry asking if the governor supports the bill.

“Health care is an absolute priority for us, so we’re looking forward to having a robust conversation as we work through the budget process about funding this,” Pierce said. “If we don’t do this, it’s at our own peril.”