美联社缅因州波特兰电 —— 缅因州一家为低收入居民提供服务的医疗诊所网络表示，由于特朗普政府削减了对堕胎服务提供者的资助，该机构将于周五停止其初级保健服务。
缅因州计划生育组织在该州运营着18家诊所，并表示堕胎服务仅占其整体服务的一小部分，其他服务还包括癌症筛查、性传播疾病检测和避孕。该机构称，由于政府采取措施阻止医疗补助资金流向包括规模更大的美国计划生育联合会在内的堕胎服务提供者，他们不得不削减初级医疗服务。
缅因州家庭计划组织主席乔治·希尔表示，削减堕胎服务提供者资金的做法正导致患者远离他们的医生。希尔称，去年该网络在初级保健实践中接诊了600多名患者。
希尔表示：“告知患者我们无法继续为他们提供诊疗令人心碎，尤其是想到其中一些人将难以找到新的医疗资源，甚至可能放弃治疗。”
缅因州计划生育组织在一份声明中表示，该机构服务于该州许多贫困和农村地区，通常每年可获得约190万美元的医疗补助报销。该机构称，约一个月前已向患者通知了即将关闭基础医疗服务的事宜。目前该机构共有约8000名患者。
缅因州计划生育组织曾在联邦法院就医疗补助资金冻结一事提起诉讼，但在8月遭遇挫折——联邦法官裁定，在该组织针对特朗普政府的诉讼进行期间不予恢复资金拨付。目前该组织已向更高层级法院提出上诉，这场法律斗争仍在持续。
生殖权利中心代表该组织向联邦法院提起诉讼，并于周五表示将继续努力争取恢复资金。生殖权利中心主席南希·诺瑟普称，缅因州计划生育机构失去资金是"更大规模战略的一部分，旨在关闭诊所，甚至在缅因这样保护堕胎权的州也不例外"。
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) A network of medical clinics that serves low-income residents in Maine said it will shut down its primary care operations on Friday because of Trump administration cuts to abortion providers.
Maine Family Planning operates 18 clinics in the state and says abortions are a relatively small percentage of its overall services, which also include cancer screenings, sexually transmitted disease testing and contraception. The network said it had to cut primary care because of the administrations move to block Medicaid money from abortion providers including the much larger Planned Parenthood.
The move to defund abortion providers is driving patients away from their doctors in Maine, said George Hill, president of Maine Family Planning. The network saw more than 600 patients in its primary care practices last year, Hill said.
Telling those patients we cant see them anymore has been devastating, especially knowing that some of them will find it too difficult to get a new provider and may just forego care, Hill said.
Maine Family Planning serves many of the poor and rural areas of the state and typically receives about $1.9 million in Medicaid reimbursements per year, the network said in a statement. The network said it notified its patients of the coming primary care closures about a month ago. The network has about 8,000 patients in total.
Maine Family Planning fought the halting of Medicaid dollars in federal court, but it suffered a setback in August when a federal judge ruled against restoring funding during the networks ongoing lawsuit against the Trump administration. The network appealed to a higher court, and that legal fight is still ongoing.
The Center for Reproductive Rights filed the case in federal court on behalf of the network, and said Friday it will continue to fight to restore the funding. Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, called the loss of funding for Maine Family Planning part of a larger strategy to shut down clinics even in states like Maine that protect the right to abortion.
