An Act To Require the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention To Publish Abortion Statistics
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 0973
Committee: Health and Human Services
Sponsors: NASS, SHERMAN, AUSTIN, CEBRA, CROSTHWAITE, HAMPER, COURTNEY
Amends: 22 MRSA §2706

Legislative Document 
No. 973 
H.P.733 
House of Representatives, March 2, 2007 
An Act To Require the Maine Center for Disease Control and 
Prevention To Publish Abortion Statistics 
Reference to the Committee on Health and Human Services suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative NASS of Acton. 
Cosponsored by Senator SHERMAN of Aroostook and 
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MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: AUSTIN of Gray, CEBRA of Naples, CROSTHWAITE of Ellsworth, 
HAMPER of Oxford, McKANE of Newcastle, Senator: COURTNEY of York. 
Printed on recycled paper 
i. 
Be.it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §2706, sub-§2 is amended to read: 
2. Statistical research. The state registrar may permit the use of data contained in 
vital records for purposes of statistical research. Such data sfiall may not be used in a 
manner wft.i€.fl that will identify any individual. 
A. 
The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention shall republish on its 
website all of the State's annual abortion vital statistics that were previouslv 
published on the department's website and that covered all years through 1999. The 
abortion vital statistics must be in the same format that was previouslv published, 
including a breakdown of abortion procedures by the number of weeks of gestation 
1 
beginning with less than 9 weeks and ending with 20 or more weeks. 
B. The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention shall update the annual 
abortion vital statistics on its website to include the years 2000 tel 2004. The abortion 
vital statistics published under this paragraph must be the same abortion vital 
statistics that were provided to the national Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention for those years pursuant to subsection 3 and that the national Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention published as this State's abortion vital statistics for 
those years. 
C. The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention shall continue to maintain 
and publish on an annual basis the abortion vital statistics in the format described in 
paragraphs A and D and shall publish the abortion vital statistics on its website within 
months following the year reported. 
D. The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention shall continue to publish 
annually on its website all abortion vital statistics as previously published, including a 
breakdown of abortion procedures by weeks of gestation and by procedure. The 
breakdown must include a separate category for each type of procedure reported and 
the total number of each procedure as reported by the number of weeks of gestation. 
All procedures, including suction curettage and dilation and evacuation must be reported 
and categorized separately. 
The term "gestation" must be categorized in the same manner as it is categorized for 
purposes of the State's abortion reporting form. 
SUMMARY 
This bill requires the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention to republish, 
update and maintain the State's annual abortion vital statistics and make the vital 
statistics available on its website. The report must include information on the categories 
of abortion performed and the number of weeks of gestation.