On Friday, the Supreme Court delivered the controversial but expected decision overturning Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that established a constitutional right to abortion nationwide. Here is a look at the most recent available data about abortion opinion and access in Maine.
64% of adult Mainers say abortion should be legal in all or most cases
The majority of Mainers think abortion should be legal in all or most cases, according to Pew research. This is slightly higher than opinions nationwide, where 61% of U.S. adults think the same.
Maine has the second-lowest abortion rate in the Northeast
Maine has the second-lowest abortion rate in the Northeast, after New Hampshire. The abortion rate in Maine is 10.1 abortions for every 1,000 women between the ages of 15 and 44, according to data compiled by the Guttmacher Institute.
Abortions increased by 15% in Maine between 2017 and 2020
Nationwide, abortions increased between 2017 and 2020 according to the Guttmacher Institute. That was true for Maine, too, as the rate of abortion increased by about 15% during that time period – the largest jump among Northeast states and more than double the national average of 7%.
The Guttmacher Institute suggests that multiple factors contributed to the increase, including requiring private insurers and MaineCare to cover abortion procedures and the disruption the health care systems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The majority of people in Maine who get abortions are in their 20s
55% of the state’s abortions were performed on people in their twenties, according to the most recent data from the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.
Half of people who get abortions in Maine have already given birth
Half of the state’s abortions were performed on pregnant people who had previously given birth. 21% had one previous birth, 29% had more than one previous birth, while the other half had no prior births, according to Maine DHHS.
Out-of-state residents account for 5% of Maine abortions
According to Maine DHHS data from 2019, 5% of abortions in Mainer were performed on out-of-state residents. The majority, 87, were from New Hampshire.
