The patient, at a tiny family planning clinic on the rural coast of Maine, had a history of cancer. Now she feared it might be back.
The clinic’s nurse practitioner, Vanessa Shields-Haas, performed a biopsy and confirmed the cancer’s return. The finding allowed the patient to see a specialist in Portland a week later, instead of waiting months.
“This is lifesaving care,” said Ms. Shields-Haas, who works at Maine Family Planning, a network of 19 clinics scattered across the state.
Clinics like these are an essential part of Maine’s health care system, especially in isolated regions that struggle with shortages of primary care providers. But because abortion is among the services it offers, Maine Family Planning is a target of a new Republican offensive aimed at blue states that still allow broad abortion access.
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