Maine’s abortion facts, by the numbers

Abortion is legal under Maine state law until about 24 weeks, or viability. The rate of abortion dropped in the state from 2014 to 2017.
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Photo via Fry1989/Wikimedia.

Here’s a look at the frequency and laws around abortion in Maine:

There were 2,040 abortions performed in Maine in 2017, the last year for which numbers are available. 

The rate of abortions per 1,000 women among women of reproductive age in Maine dropped from 9.5 per 1,000 to 8.8 between 2014 and 2017.

Abortions in Maine accounted for .2 percent of all abortions performed in the United States in 2017. 

Nationally, the number of abortions fell by 19 percent between 2011 and 2017, to 862,320. The rate of abortion among women of reproductive age dropped nationally as well.

There were 21 facilities that performed abortions in Maine in 2017, including 16 clinics. That is an increase from nine facilities in 2014.

About one-quarter of Maine women lived in counties that had no clinics that provided abortions.

Sixty-four percent of people surveyed in Maine in 2014 said abortion should be legal in all or most cases. That was a drop from 68 percent in 2007.

Maine state law says abortion is legal until about 24 weeks, or viability. It is legal beyond that point to preserve the health or life of the mother. 

A new law signed by Gov. Janet Mills in April created a “medical safety zone’’ of eight feet outside the entrance of abortion clinics.

Sources: The Guttmacher Institute; Pew Research Center; Associated Press.

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The Maine Monitor is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service of the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting that holds Maine state government and institutions accountable. Our team of investigative journalists use data- and document-based reporting to produce stories that have an impact.
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