Amid federal uncertainty, Planned Parenthood hits Maine streets to reach patients directly

After being cut off from federal Medicaid funding by Republicans’ sweeping budget reconciliation bill, the organization has taken the fight to court while staff continues to provide services in Maine and across the country. 

“Hopefully it will come out in favor of Planned Parenthood, but in the meantime, services are still being provided,” Pfitzer told a mom who answered the door while her two kids played in the front yard. “That’s partly why we are here today; to say that even though all this is happening, you can still rely on Planned Parenthood.”

In light of the rapidly changing federal landscape, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England last month launched a regular neighborhood canvass in Biddeford and will soon be knocking doors in Sanford, as well. In addition to spreading awareness of the health centers located in those communities, the outreach is intended to let people know that anyone can access their services, which are not limited to the reproductive health care typically associated with the organization. 

“I think there’s a lot of misinformation floating around, not only perpetuated by folks out of state, but also by political actors in state. Every year we see bills that seek to undermine our reproductive rights,” said Lisa Margulies, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England’s vice president of public affairs.

“And so this is a way of getting out into the community and letting people know that they have these rights in Maine, and these services are available to them,” Margulies said.

Before the canvass, half a dozen staff and volunteers gathered downtown for a brief training. 

Maine Family Planning appeals ruling that upheld loss of $1.9M in Medicaid funding

“So today, the goals are to spread the word about resources available, clear up any misconceptions people may have about these recent bills, and to sign up new supporters,” Lindsay Ware, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England’s civic engagement project leader, told the group.

Getting the word out

In groups of two, staff and volunteers knocked on more than a 100 doors that day. Some who answered were already supporters of the reproductive health care provider, making regular donations. Others used Google Translate to understand what the volunteers were saying, and exchanged contact information to learn more. And a handful said they were happy with their current health care providers but accepted the volunteers’ printed hand-outs. 

One young woman who had just moved to Biddeford had not heard of Planned Parenthood, but told McLeod-Tardiff that they were planning to start a family soon and could utilize some of their services. 

“While there are politicians who are trying to take away our care, we’re out here in the rain, talking to real people, making sure that people know that they can get care,” said McLeod-Tardiff, who serves as organizing and trainings manager with Planned Parenthood’s local chapter.

“And it feels good, because a lot of the other canvassing that we do has to do with elections or ballot measures,” she added, “and this is just purely getting information out there directly to potential patients.”

Pfitzer spent years working internationally on reproductive health care as a grantee of the U.S. Agency for International Development. But after President Donald Trump’s administration ordered mass layoffs at the agency, Pfitzer lost her job earlier this year. She now volunteers for Planned Parenthood in Maine and splits her time between that and volunteering in Maryland for other causes. But this one is personal, she said.

“I’ve given my whole career to that work, and I’ve seen it under so much attack here,” Pfitzer said. “So it’s my own form of resistance by saying, ‘You fired me from doing it overseas, well, then I’ll put that energy to countering that here in my country.’”

Services continue amid legal challenges 

Both Planned Parenthood and Maine Family Planning, Maine’s largest reproductive care provider, were blocked from receiving federal Medicaid funding and have asked the courts to reverse initial rulings that have sustained those cuts.

In August, Maine Family Planning was denied a preliminary injunction by U.S. District Court Judge Lance Walker, a Trump appointee. That case will now be heard in the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston. Planned Parenthood was initially granted a preliminary injunction, which was later reversed by the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in September. 

Meanwhile, both providers have said they will continue to treat patients on MaineCare, the state’s Medicaid program, free of charge. 

While Planned Parenthood of Northern New England has not announced any changes to services yet, Maine Family Planning — which operates 18 health centers, many in rural, medically underserved areas — will have to shutter its primary care practices in Ellsworth, Houlton and Presque Isle next month if the appeals court does not rule in its favor, said Olivia Pennington, the group’s director of advocacy and community engagement.

The Maine Legislature has provided some temporary relief, in the form of $6 million in family planning funding, but it does not fully meet the deficit both organizations face. 

“There are so many providers who simply don’t take Medicaid because it does not actually cover the cost of care,” Margulies said, noting that Medicaid reimburses health care providers at a lower rate than private health insurance. “And so should we and Maine Family Planning and others not exist in our community, there’s simply no other place folks can go.”