Family Planning Association of Maine, Inc.

MFP’s primary goal is to provide all Maine people with the knowledge and tools they need to decide if and when to have children, no matter what their income or health insurance is, or where they live. To achieve this, MFP’s objectives include supplementing excellent and professional clinical sexual health care with appropriate and voluntary education and counseling; maintaining a clinical presence in every area of Maine, including very rural locations where health care is more difficult and more expensive to provide; and ensuring continued state, federal, and private funding so that no patient need be turned away for lack of personal income, inadequate insurance, or no insurance. In addition, MFP develops annual detailed work plans at each clinic that incorporate objectives such as total patient numbers, the number of specific screenings to be provided, or number of patients who report a primary contraceptive method.

MFP’s second goal is to ensure that Mainers, especially young Maine residents in school and school-related settings, have access to complete, accurate, and factual sexual health education that is evidence-based and effective. To attain this goal, MFP’s objectives include maintaining its three education and teen pregnancy prevention program staff members; focusing educator outreach and training activities in specific geographical areas where teen pregnancy rates are higher; and organizing an hosting an annual Comprehensive Sexuality Education Conference where teachers, school nurses, counselors, administrators, prevention and care providers, health professionals, community health planners, staff from community-based organizations, social workers, and public health staff can meet and network, as well as pursue professional development opportunities at workshops that cover a wide range of topics.
For instance, this year’s conference theme is Helping Youth Navigate the World of Relationships Through Comprehensive Sexuality Education and workshop topics will include, among others, expanding knowledge of LGBTQ+ relationships, delivering relationship education for people with disabilities, and integrating relationship education into sexuality education.

MFP’s third goal is to advocate, at local, state, and federal levels, on behalf of reproductive justice issues. This means that MFP seeks to engage and educate legislators and policy makers about matters that relate, either positively or negatively, to three core principles of reproductive justice: the right to have children, the right to not have children, and the right to parent children in healthy and safe environments. Research has shown that women need accessible and affordable reproductive health care so that they can access contraception to avoid unintended pregnancy and choose if or when to have children. This enables them to complete their education plans, get better jobs, better support themselves, and better support their families when they are ready to do so.

MFP's core services directly support women's reproductive health, particularly regarding contraception, which supports improved quality of life for women and their families. All MFP clinics provide contraceptive care; pregnancy options counseling; screening, diagnosis, and treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STIs); breast and pelvic exams; cervical cancer screening (Pap test); abnormal Pap test follow-up; and HIV testing, counseling, and consultations/prescriptions for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis. Patients receive screenings for hypertension, diabetes, and anemia as well as information about sterilization, infertility, pregnancy, immunizations, nutrition, domestic violence, and risk avoidance.

MPF provides both aspiration and medication abortion care at its Augusta clinic and medication abortion via telehealth at its 17 other sites. An increasing proportion (50% of all abortion patients) are choosing medication abortion. In our rural state, telehealth medication abortion makes it possible for women who might have driven long distances to obtain care closer to home and more conveniently.

The primary care practice at our Ellsworth site is thriving. Primary care services include adolescent, pediatric, and geriatric services; wellness care and physical exams; management of chronic conditions and menopause; and immunizations for patients 19 and under.

MFP offers specialized care for transgender patients at its Belfast, Presque Isle, Lewiston, and Waterville clinics. Services include hormonal transition therapy and monitoring; on-site self-injection lessons; referrals to specialty providers; and annual exams.

MFP's Teen Pregnancy Prevention and Personal Responsibility Education programming provides educators to train the trainers. MFP uses evidence-based curricula. In FY18, educators across the state were trained in the "Best Practices in Teen Pregnancy, STD, and HIV Prevention". The team also trained educators to use "Puberty Happens".

Opioid dependent women face enormous obstacles in accessing health care generally, and family planning care specifically. The logistics of making and keeping an appointment are significantly more difficult because a woman dealing with substance use disorder fears she will be treated badly once identified as an addict. This fear, combined with what often is a chaotic lifestyle, can complicate the more ordinary barriers to reproductive health care, such as low income, inadequate or nonexistent insurance coverage, and the tightening of MaineCare [Medicaid] eligibility.



Our community organizer and Center for Reproductive Health staff offer abortion advocacy trainings to strengthen our advocacy base. These trainings help expand access, eliminate stigma, and defend Mainers' rights to abortion.

MFP seeks to sustain itself by ensuring that its healthcare services remain affordable and as easily accessible and convenient as possible. MFP's telehealth system is used for family planning care, making it possible for patients in rural clinics to meet with a nurse practitioner via telehealth for specific appointment types that do not require a physical exam.

MFP has implemented InTouch Health to enhance the security for real time telehealth. Same day appointments are available at our clinics. Appointments can be made online. We offer a live chat feature on our website.

MFP’s Reproductive Empowerment Project (REP) was created to address issues faced by opioid dependent women. Two Outreach Educators establish relationships with other organizations that work with women of childbearing age who either are at risk of opioid dependency, or already diagnosed as dependent.
The Outreach Educators give presentations on topics related to reproductive health, including contraceptive methods, sexual health risk avoidance strategies, and sexually transmitted infection and HIV prevention. Participation is completely voluntary. Each session concludes by informing participants that, if they choose, they can be connected with a MFP Women’s Health Care Nurse Practitioner (WHCNP) via a secure, HIPAA-compliant video platform, to receive contraceptive counseling that can lead to the immediate provision of an oral contraceptive method.

MFP supports a vigorous public affairs department that educates the public and our legislators about the importance of affordable and accessible comprehensive reproductive health care.

In FY18, MFP 18 clinics and 29 Partners in Reproductive Health (our subcontractors) served a total of 23,811 Mainers. That care included 21,736 tests for sexually transmitted infections; 1,389 breast cancer screenings; 2,683 cervical cancer screenings (Pap tests); and 3,277 HIV tests. Of those patients, 83% qualified for free or reduced fee services.

The "Best Practices in Teen Pregnancy STD and HIV Prevention" curriculum was presented to 1,650 students who completed pre and post assessments in FY18. Some of the most significant changes in student knowledge and skills included increased knowledge about preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections; accessing sexual health services when needed; improved skills around communicating with a partner; and correct condom use.

MFP's Public Affairs department educated the public and state legislators about a number of bills aimed at chipping away at our autonomy, including legislation to allow wrongful death suits for the death of a fetus and legislation requiring child protective reports if a woman is suspected of using illicit drugs.

In 2018, our community organizer and Center for Reproductive Health staff provided abortion advocacy training to over 230 Mainers. These trainings are offered around the state to invite participants to deepen their knowledge and skills about abortion care.

MFP's Parker F. Harris and Russell N. DeJong, Jr. Center for Reproductive Health in Augusta provided training in abortion care for 42 "learners" - nursing students, nurse practitioners, medical students, and residents.