Bill seeks to expand those in Maine who can perform abortions

Maine’s governor and House speaker yesterday introduced a bill to expand access to abortion in the state by allowing physician assistants and certain nurses to perform the procedure. Currently, 42 states prohibit non-physicians from providing abortions, while New York and California have laws that say other medical professionals can do so. In Maine, some rural residents seeking an abortion must travel as far as eight hours round-trip to reach one of the state’s three publicly accessible health centers for an in-clinic procedure.