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In 2015, PPNNE’s public policy and grassroots organizing staff worked to promote and protect access to women’s health care, the needs of uninsured and low income populations, and reproductive rights. Supporting their work is a network of thousands of activists throughout Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont who help us face challenges unique to our political landscape. Across our region, we utilize staffing, volunteer, and advocacy strategies designed to optimize each state’s strengths and overcome specific threats and challenges, including protecting women’s health care and family planning access.

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Together, we are building a movement. With every attack on women’s health, the network of people who stand with Planned Parenthood has grown. In 2015, PPNNE continued a long tradition to promote and protect access to women’s health care, the needs of uninsured and low income populations, and reproductive rights. Supporting this work is a network of thousands of activists throughout Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont who help us face challenges unique to our political landscape. Staff, volunteers and activists work together on strategies to optimize each state’s strengths and overcome specific threats and challenges, including protecting women’s health care and family planning access.

Accomplishments:

  • Organized an extremely successful Pink Out Day across Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, to fight baseless attacks against Planned Parenthood, following last summer’s video smear campaign. Hundreds of supporters wearing pink came to events, took selfies, and made signs to show their communities they stand with Planned Parenthood.
  • Defeated numerous bills in all three states that would have defunded services and limited access to family planning and abortion care. In response and with your help, we have built a strong public policy and public affairs presence that together with our legion of activists is combating efforts to restrict sexual and reproductive health care throughout the year
  • Working with our allies in Maine, we secured passage of family planning Medicaid expansion legislation and began advocating for implementation. This could allow 13,000 low income Maine women and men to receive free birth control, STD testing/treatment and annual exams.
  • Continued PPNNE’s role as a go-to organization for health insurance information and enrollment assistance with the Affordable Care Act’s online Marketplaces, and Medicaid expansions. Grant support enabled some PPNNE health centers to provide in-person enrollment assistance to those who needed help with selecting an affordable insurance plan and accessing subsidies and/or tax credits.
  • Supported campus organizing efforts at colleges across our three states and building strong Volunteer Action Teams to deepen and grow grassroots organizing capacity. The network includes the University of Southern Maine, Bates College, Bowdoin College, and Colby College in Maine; the University of Vermont, Vermont Law School and Middlebury College in Vermont; and the University of New Hampshire, Dartmouth College and Colby Sawyer College in NH.
  • Launched the Abortion Canvassing Project in Maine with two overarching goals: to combat abortion stigma and build a strong community of advocates who care about access to reproductive healthcare.