The Maine Health and Human Services Committee is scheduled to vote Thursday, April 2, on LD 319, on a bill that would provide access to reproductive health care services to low-income women, including annual exams, pap smears, birth control methods and testing for sexually transmitted diseases.

Opponents argue that the bill would provide funding to organizations that provide abortions. In reality, the bill isn’t about providing abortions; it is about preventing them. Low-income women are at a significantly greater risk of unintended pregnancy because they cannot access or afford birth control. Unintended pregnancy can interrupt a woman’s education, ability to join the workforce or jeopardize her financial security.

By providing women access to birth control and allowing them to decide if or when to start a family, they are better able to provide for future children, or to pursue higher education. Beyond improving a woman’s economic future, LD 319 would save taxpayers $3 million a year and reduce the number of abortions.

As a pregnant woman, I am fortunate that my job provides full health insurance benefits and that I have the financial stability to support my growing family. But I often think about how close we all are to poverty. What would happen if I lost my job? If I became pregnant at a time when I wasn’t prepared? Without LD 319, what would my future look like?

LD 319 makes economic and moral sense. I hope that my state senator, Eric Brakey, will stand up for Maine women and support the bill.

Brittany Vara, New Gloucester