The Maryland Legislature is considering four extremist anti-choice bills that threaten abortion access in the state. We need you to speak out and tell legislators to oppose these thinly veiled attempts to undermine reproductive rights and freedom of conscience. The bills:
HB 1198 would require physicians who prescribe medication for abortion to tell patients about so-called “abortion reversal” procedures, which the American Medication Association (AMA) has called “a patently false and unproven claim unsupported by scientific evidence.” Legislating medical procedures based on this pseudoscientific dogma could have potentially deadly consequences.
HB 1109 would require patients to undergo a burdensome 24-hour waiting period and mandatory ultrasound before they are able to get an abortion. Because mandatory waiting periods delay abortion care, abortion procedures unnecessarily become riskier.
HB 0997 defines abortion as the “intentional killing of an unborn human being” and the definition of an “unborn human being” as “a living human zygote, embryo, or fetus, beginning the moment of fertilization.” This dubious definition is based on the dogmatic religious belief that ensoulment takes place at conception, explicitly conflating a human embryo with an “unborn child.”
HB 0846 would prohibit abortion if there is a prenatal diagnosis of Down Syndrome. This is a favorite tactic of Christian nationalists — passing legislation that will restrict access to abortion under the guise of anti-discrimination protections. This is a smoke-and-mirrors attempt to restrict access to reproductive health care without actually increasing resources or social services for people who give birth to children with disabilities.
The Maryland Health and Government Operations Committee has a hearing scheduled on these four bills on Friday, March 19, at 1:30 p.m. local time. Please use our simple, automated system to contact all members of this committee and urge them to oppose these unnecessary anti-choice measures. Feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided.
