Maine’s abortion providers plan to ask the state for additional money during next year’s legislative session, in part to offset shortfalls in federal funding.

Planned Parenthood of Northern New England and Maine Family Planning are drafting a bill with state Rep. Amy Kuhn, D-Falmouth, who will sponsor it.

The exact funding request has not been finalized, but Nicole Clegg, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, said the amount would be similar to the $6 million in one-time funding that state legislators approved during the 2025 session.

The state money would support the primary and reproductive health care that the clinics offer to patients. It would not fund abortions, Clegg said.

Kuhn said in a statement Tuesday that Maine Family Planning and Planned Parenthood are a “critical safety net for tens of thousands of patients every year. It is essential that these providers have the resources they need so that Maine people can get the care they rely on.”

State Rep. Amy Arata, R-New Gloucester, said in a statement Tuesday that Planned Parenthood “expects a return on its ‘investment'” for donating to Democratic campaigns, and that she opposes the abortion services performed at their clinics.

“Hard-earned tax dollars should be spent on true healthcare, not political scams,” Arata said.

Clegg, in an interview with the Press Herald on Monday, said the need is ongoing, as the Trump administration’s federal funding cutbacks to abortion providers continue. While the one-time infusion of $6 million in state tax dollars helped keep services going this year, Clegg said the goal of the bill for the 2026 session would be to create a permanent funding stream from the state.

Ben Goodman, a spokesperson for Gov. Janet Mills, said the administration would consider “what financial resources are available” and “what potential steps” can be taken regarding state funding for abortion providers.

Mills, in her two terms in office, has supported abortion rights efforts and Democrats, who generally support abortion rights, hold majorities in the Maine House and Senate.

Nick Adolphsen, executive director of the Christian Civic League of Maine, which opposes abortion, said in a statement Tuesday that “if federal dollars stop flowing to Planned Parenthood and (Maine) Family Planning because of its abortion practices, the answer isn’t to force Maine taxpayers to bail them out.”

The federal Republican budget bill approved in January ended Medicaid funding to abortion providers. The Trump administration is also attempting to strip federal Title X funding from abortion providers, although a lawsuit challenging the federal government’s withholding of funds is pending in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.

About $5.5 million in federal funding for Planned Parenthood’s Maine operations and Maine Family Planning is already cut or under threat.

“We are seeing every pathway of federal funding being shut off for us,” Clegg said. “It’s about maintaining a system that serves the community. We need consistent, reliable funding.”

Clegg said, in addition to federal funding cuts, increasing demand for services and escalating costs are also reasons they need more funding to maintain services.

Clegg said Planned Parenthood doesn’t turn anyone away, so the group will continue to serve Medicaid patients even if not getting reimbursed for providing the care. Clegg said they will have to consider cutting services if they can’t bring in sufficient revenue to cover their costs. The group is also ramping up efforts to increase revenue from donations.

Olivia Pennington, director of advocacy and community engagement for Maine Family Planning, said in an interview Monday that, despite the $6 million in state money approved in 2025, financial problems caused the organization to shutter primary care services at three of its clinics in Ellsworth, Houlton and Presque Isle.

“We know the federal funding is increasingly unreliable as time goes by,” Pennington said. “We need stable, consistent, ongoing funding. That will certainly help keep the doors open.”

Maine’s Planned Parenthood locations are in Portland, Biddeford, Sanford and Topsham. Maine Family Planning has clinics in 18 locations across the state.