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AUGUSTA, Maine, June 11, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – On Monday, Maine Gov. Janet Mills signed legislation expanding the ability to commit abortions from actual doctors to physician assistants and some types of nurses, which critics argue will only increase the risks to women considering abortion.

Mills, a Democrat, proposed the measure in March, calling for advanced nurse practitioners and physician assistants to be allowed to perform medication-administered abortions on the grounds that it would increase abortion “access” in more rural parts of the state. She signed it into law Monday, Fox News reported.

In addition to opposing the law “on philosophical grounds,” Christian Civic League of Maine executive director Carroll Conley expressed concern to The New York Times that the healthcare practitioners covered by the new law would be unable to receive sufficient medical training by the time the law takes effect in September, and whether those with moral objections to participating in abortions would see their rights respected.

Conley also disputed the idea that the law was responding to actual evidence that any residents of rural Maine were unable to obtain abortions.

Pro-lifers object that letting non-doctors commit abortions puts abortion-seeking women in greater danger by subjecting them to abortionists with less training or experience. Infamous Philadelphia abortionist Kermit Gosnell delegated parts of the abortion process such as administering anesthesia to non-physician employees, one of whom was only 15 years old.

Pro-lifers also fear the law will increase the number of abortions in the state. The Bangor Daily News reported that the bill would effectively increase the number of locations in Maine that commit abortions from three to 18.

Nevertheless, enacting the measure represents a victory for Mills, who pushed for a similar measure last year as state Attorney General, and for pro-abortion organizations like Planned Parenthood and the ACLU, who have tried to force the state to allow nurse practitioners and licensed midwives to commit abortions since at least 2017.