The 19-16 vote came one week after the House voted 79-63 to pass a measure that supporters argue is necessary to ensure that women can access abortion care regardless of their income or their insurer. While the bill faces additional procedural votes, Democratic Gov. Janet Mills is expected to sign the measure into law.

The bill would expand the circumstances under which the state Medicaid program, MaineCare, covers abortion services and would also require private insurers that provide coverage for maternity care to also cover abortions.

Sen. Heather Sanborn, D-Portland, said decisions about pregnancy and abortion are between a woman and her doctor. They should not be dictated by policymakers or insurance companies with political views on abortion.

“I want her to be supported by her loved ones and I want her to get high-quality health care from a trusted provider,” Sanborn said. “I want her to be safe and I want her to be treated with dignity.”

Opponents, however, portrayed the bill, L.D. 820, as violating the religious or moral beliefs of abortion opponents by requiring all Maine taxpayers to pay for the procedure because of the expansion of MaineCare coverage.

“L.D. 820 would force every Maine taxpayer to fund elective, non-medically necessary abortions right up to the point of viability for any reason,” said Sen. Lisa Keim, R-Dixfield.

Tthe number of abortions performed in Maine fluctuates from year to hear, although the long-term trend appears to be downward. There were 2,653 performed in 2005 but only 1,836 in 2015, a 31 percent drop, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The expansion would cost MaineCare $227,546 in fiscal year 2019-20 and $375,843 in each of the following three years, according to a fiscal analysis.

The Senate vote fell largely along party lines, with all but two Democrats — Sen. Michael Carpenter of Houlton and Sen. Bill Diamond of Windham — supporting the measure and all 14 Republicans opposing it.

Abortion rights advocates hailed the vote.

“While we all have our own personal feelings and beliefs about abortion, we don’t want a law that stops people who need an abortion from getting one by actually preventing them from using their healthcare coverage,” Nicole Clegg, vice president at the Planned Parenthood Maine Action Fund and Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, said in a statement. “That’s what’s happening now and it doesn’t feel right. L.D. 820 will ensure that a woman can make her own medical decisions about abortion without her insurance denying care.”