Maine is considering allowing doctors who prescribe medications used to perform abortions to keep their names off prescription labels in a change that advocates say would help protect them from legal risks and attacks.

Lawmakers held a public hearing Wednesday on a bill that would permit doctors who prescribe mifepristone, misoprostol and their generic alternatives to use the name of the health care facility they work for on the prescription label rather than their own name, as is currently required by state law.

Mifepristone tablets are seen in a Planned Parenthood clinic in Ames, Iowa. Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press

Mifepristone and misoprostol are medications used to manage miscarriages and abortions within the first 10 weeks of pregnancy.

Rep. Sally Cluchey, D-Bowdoinham, the bill’s sponsor, told the Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services Committee that the change would offer additional protection for abortion providers amid increasing threats of violence and attacks after the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade.

It follows legislation that Maine passed last year to provide legal protections for doctors who provide abortions and gender-affirming care that has been banned in a patient’s home state.

“This bill, LD 538, builds on those protections, ensuring that health care providers can continue to serve patients without fear of harassment or harm,” Cluchey said. “Without this additional protection, medical professionals in Maine, who are already being targeted by states seeking to criminalize care, remain vulnerable to legal intimidation.”

Maine is not the only state to consider changes to its requirements around prescription labeling to protect abortion providers. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation last month allowing prescribers of medical abortion to request that pharmacies print the name of their practice rather than their personal name on prescription labels.

Washington state passed a similar law last year, and a proposal is also being considered in Illinois.

The New York legislation came after a doctor there was criminally charged in Louisiana for prescribing an abortion pill that was taken by a Louisiana teenager. The same doctor is also facing a civil lawsuit in Texas for allegedly providing a Texas woman with abortion pills via telemedicine.

In the aftermath of the fall of Roe v. Wade in 2022, some states, like Maine, have taken steps to ensure abortion remains legal while others have rolled back protections or enacted abortion bans. Twelve states currently ban abortion, according to the health policy organization KFF.

“In this tumultuous national landscape, Maine has remained a safe harbor for those seeking access to vitally needed sexual and reproductive health care,” said Lisa Margulies, vice president of public affairs, Maine, for Planned Parenthood of Northern New England.

Margulies said the bill would protect the privacy and safety of Maine clinicians who might be targeted for their work.

“This would deter abortion opponents from out of state from weaponizing a discarded or otherwise obtained pill bottle,” she said.

According to the National Abortion Federation’s 2022 Violence & Disruption Statistics report, stalking incidents targeting abortion clinic staff and patients rose 229% from 2021 to 2022 while threats of harm and death threats to abortion providers rose 20%.

Rep. Sally Cluchey, D-Bowdoinham

Cluchey cited that report Wednesday, as well as examples of harassment and acts of intimidation at abortion clinics in Maine. In one case last year, two men followed a patient into Maine Family Planning’s Lewiston clinic and tried to gain access to the patient waiting room, she said. And in another case, protestors blockaded a clinic entrance in Waterville.

“These are only a fraction of the harassment providers are experiencing,” Cluchey said.

Most of the testimony the committee heard Wednesday was in support, although the Retail Association of Maine testified against the proposal on behalf of pharmacies.

President and CEO Curtis Picard told the committee that pharmacies are concerned the bill would conflict with labeling requirements in federal law.

In response to a committee member’s question about how New York and Washington have been able to enact similar laws, Picard said the retail association has received conflicting information and he is still looking into the issue.

“(Our pharmacies) had an attorney say they think it can be done and Washington has done it, but then I’ve had my pharmacy corporate counsel say, ‘No, we still think it violates federal rules,'” Picard said.

Picard also told the committee it would be difficult for pharmacies to “delete” the prescriber’s name in the technological systems they use.

“Each system is different technology-wise, and the ability to modify that system would be costly and very difficult,” he said.

Picard said in an interview after the hearing that the association has no problems with the intent of the bill.

“We’re happy to keep talking with the committee and see if there’s a way forward,” he said.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland also submitted testimony against the bill.

“This prescription should not be treated any differently than other prescribed drugs,” the diocese said in written testimony. “The proponents of abortion consider it healthcare so it should be treated as such and held to the same standards.”