BALTIMORE, Md. — In the wake of the leak of a draft opinion that shows the Supreme Court iswilling to overturn Roe v. Wade this year, Maryland's elected officials have released various responses.
I stood on the Senate Steps with my @SenateDems colleagues to voice the need to protect access to safe and legal abortions.
— Senator Ben Cardin (@SenatorCardin) May 3, 2022
No level of government, whether federal, state or local, nor Congress, the President, or the Supreme Court, should interfere in personal health decisions. pic.twitter.com/VbctOGHaKw
We received the following statement from Rep. Andy Harris by email.
“Everyone knows that even if the unprecedented leaked document is genuine, it is not the final decision. We should respect the Court’s timeline in issuing a final decision.”
If this draft decision stands, the Supreme Court will strip Americans of their reproductive rights and put the lives & health of millions of women at risk. The Trump SCOTUS nominees’ claims to respect precedent were lies. We must overcome this and codify Roe V. Wade NOW. https://t.co/snox28IVZG
— Senator Chris Van Hollen (@ChrisVanHollen) May 3, 2022
Today, Maryland Comptroller and gubernatorial candidate Peter Franchot asked Governor Larry Hogan to release funds and prepare the state for a potential influx of women from other states seeking abortions here.
ABC News shared this graphic which shows that all states bordering Maryland, other than Delaware and the District of Columbia either don't protect abortion rights or are hostile to them, if Roe v. Wade were overturned.
Franchot, in his letter, talks about the General Assembly's passage of The Abortion Care Access Act and asks the Governor to release $3.5 million restricted in the upcoming fiscal year's budget "to provide funding for abortion care training programs at community-based and hospital based provider sites."
Maryland this year expanded access to abortion care. In a referendum in 1992, Marylanders voted to uphold a law that prevented the state from restricting pre-viability abortions. (See MD. Health - General Code Ann. § 20-209 (2020))
"To ensure that our state has enough health professionals to meet the expected increased need for these services, and especially considering the majority of abortions are conducted by medication, we should immediately and safely train health professionals through programs with these funds. With more than $200 million left in our State’s General Fund, state government is positioned to deploy funds now before the devastating and catastrophic public health effects of the Court’s decision overruling Roe takes effect."
- excerpt from Franchot's letter to Governor Hogan
The Abortion Care Access Act only passed into law after the legislature overrode the Governor's veto of the bill.
