PORTLAND — The issue of abortion and funding for women’s reproductive health care took center stage Wednesday in the race for governor.

Democrat Hannah Pingree received the endorsement of the Planned Parenthood Maine Action Fund PAC, which pledged to spend an undisclosed amount of money to support her candidacy.

“There’s too much at stake for the people of Maine this November,” said Nicole Clegg, President and CEO of the action fund. “There is only one person we can trust to lead our state, protect our rights and safeguard access to basic essential lifesaving healthcare. And that is Hannah Pingree.”

Pingree faces Republican Bobby Charles and independent Rick Bennett in the race for governor. All are vying for the chance to succeed Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who signed legislation to expand abortion access in 2023, the year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and gave states the power to set their own policies on abortion access. 

As a result, abortion is illegal in 13 states, with about a dozen states opting to adopt policies that make it more difficult to access. It has been protected or expanded in 26 states, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights.

Clegg said Wednesday that since the 2022 Supreme Court decision, it’s now up to governors — not the federal government — to set policies and make funding decisions about abortion access.

Although Pingree described Charles as “an anti-abortion extremist,” Charles, an attorney, said he would uphold existing state and federal laws as governor.

He then blamed Pingree for hospitals that have closed neonatal units but did not specifically cite what decisions she’s made that would have led hospitals to make those decisions. 

“Hannah Pingree has failed Maine women and families,” Charles said.

He went on to say he is “focused on kitchen table issues: cutting taxes, lowering energy bills, and focusing on improving our students’ educational outcomes which have fallen below Mississippi under Pingree.”

Pingree is a former Maine House Speaker and former member of the Mills’ administration. She served as director of the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future, which focuses on climate change, housing and other long-term initiatives.

Bennett, a former Republican, said in a statement that he will “continue to defend the protections Maine women have under the law.” 

“I have always supported a woman’s right to choose,” Bennett said. “More than three decades ago, I cosponsored the law that codified Roe v. Wade into Maine law, and last year I was proud to earn a 92% rating from Planned Parenthood Maine Action Fund, reflecting strong and consistent support for reproductive health access and patient protections.”

After receiving the Planned Parenthood endorsement, Pingree said if elected, she will push for a state constitutional amendment to guarantee a right to abortion, look to partner with other states to ensure access to medication abortion and work to backfill gaps in federal funding.

“Governors are truly the firewall,” Pingree said. “A governor has to stand up and say not in my state and not while I’m in charge. You cannot do this to us here in Maine.”