The governor of Maine signed a bill on Monday that will expand access to abortions in the state by allowing health care professionals who are not physicians to perform the procedure.

Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, said in a statement that the measure “will ensure that Maine women, especially those in rural areas, are able to access critical reproductive health care services when and where they need them from qualified providers they know and trust.”

The law will go into effect in September, and it will allow nurse practitioners, physician assistants and other qualified medical professionals to administer abortions involving oral medicine or in-clinic procedures.

The governor’s office said only three cities in Maine — Augusta, Bangor and Portland — have publicly accessible health care centers where a patient can get an aspiration abortion, which is a procedure that involves suction. The new law could make it easier for more rural clinics to offer the same service.