For 40 days, from February 26 to April 5, patients seeking all types of care at our flagship health center in Augusta will be subjected to judgment and misinformation hurled at them by anti-abortion zealots who have co-opted the Christian observance of Lent in an attempt to intimidate and shame.
When our patients come to one of Maine Family Planning’s 18 clinics statewide, we offer them compassionate, patient-centered care that meets them where they are with no judgment and no agenda.
We can’t say the same about these protesters. They are pushing a dogmatic and dangerous agenda that jeopardizes reproductive rights, stigmatizes safe and legal health care, and infringes on patient autonomy. Their misinformation campaign is part of a broader assault, not only on abortion rights, but also on birth control access and LGBTQ+ rights. It has nothing to do with patient well-being or people’s individual circumstances, and everything to do with ideology.
We believe every person has the right to exercise their reproductive freedom with dignity and respect. We won’t sit by idly and watch our patients be accosted in this way. So over the next 40 days, we are encouraging our supporters to Pledge-A-Patient.
We’ll be sharing stories that destigmatize abortion, shining light on the important work we do, and offering a counter-narrative to the intimidation campaign waged by anti-abortion extremists.
A gift to our unrestricted fund through the Pledge-A-Patient (PAP) campaign supports all of our programming. Below are some examples of how we could use your generous contribution:
- $25 could provide a patient with a month of oral contraception
- $60 could support a scholarship to our annual sexual education conference
- $100 could provide a patient with comprehensive STI testing
- $250 could support a gender-affirming hormone therapy appointment for a patient
- $500 could help a patient access a safe, legal, judgement-free abortion
Donations of any amount will go towards the greatest need unless you direct us otherwise.
We’ll be posting weekly between now and the first week of April as part of the Pledge-A-Patient campaign, so please follow along on our blog and on Facebook and Twitter. We’ll be using the hashtags #GiveUpStigmaForLent #PledgeAPatient and #MyRightMyDecision (also being used by our allies gearing up for the March 4 U.S. Supreme Court hearing on June Medical Services, LLC v. Russo, a case that could have critical implications for reproductive rights).
Thank you!
