Top government officials rallied today in Annapolis as they start to make a final push to codify reproductive rights into the Maryland state constitution.
Maryland First Lady Dawn Moore and House of Delegates Speaker Adrienne Jones (D-Baltimore County) called on Maryland voters to cast their ballots this November for a constitutional amendment protecting abortion in the state.
“We’ve got to make sure that reproductive rights, abortion rights, even contraceptive rights, are protected in our state constitution,” Moore said. “If we vote yes on reproductive freedom, our rights will be protected well into the future, no matter who is in office. But if we fall short, if we don’t get it done, I promise, there’s always going to be someone out there looking to turn back the clock.”
A constitutional amendment would make it difficult for future lawmakers or executives to hinder reproductive rights in the state.
California, Michigan and Vermont are the only other states in the nation that protect reproductive rights in their state constitutions.
The remarks came on the 51st anniversary of Roe v. Wade, a court case that kept abortion legal throughout the nation until it was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2022.
Since then, the country has been torn in half, as more conservative states restricted abortion access, while more liberal states protected abortion care.
Gov. Wes Moore has promised that Maryland will continue to be a sanctuary state for people seeking abortions.
Last year, he freed $3.5 million in funding to help train more reproductive healthcare providers that was being held up by the Hogan administration.
“Gov. Wes Moore understands that reproductive freedom is non-negotiable and that access to safe, legal abortion is an essential health care service in this country,” said Maryland Department of Health Secretary Laura Herrera Scott said at the time. “We strongly encourage qualified health providers to respond to the request for applications and implement comprehensive training programs that keep abortion care safe and accessible in Maryland.”
Moore also directed the state to buy a two-and-a-half-year stockpile of mifepristone, a drug used in abortions, after federal court cases threatened to ban it.