Maine governor signs bill allowing abortions by non-physicians News
Carol Boldt, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Maine governor signs bill allowing abortions by non-physicians

The governor of Maine signed a bill Monday that seeks to improve access to abortions for women in the state.

The bill, LD 1261, is also known as “An Act To Authorize Certain Health Care Professionals To Perform Abortions.” The Act allows certain healthcare practitioners, including physician assistants and advanced practice registered nurses, to perform abortions. Previously, these healthcare practitioners were not allowed to perform abortions. This resulted in women from rural areas being “required to travel hours for reproductive care, despite the presence of qualified, experienced practitioners in their own communities.”