The SCOTUS decision to overturn Roe v. Wade is a devastating blow to a fundamental human right that people in this country have been able to access for decades and generations.  Removing access to abortion will have dire, life-threatening consequences for women across this country.  Overturning 50 years of precedent significantly undermines reproductive freedom and a woman’s bodily autonomy.  

The evisceration of this human right significantly limits health care for women, deepens racial disparities, will increase maternal mortality rates, and will have particularly dangerous consequences for low-income women and women of color. The travesty of this politicized decision will overwhelm mental health services, foster care providers and social services agencies with potentially disastrous outcomes.

Forcing pregnant people and minors to carry a pregnancy to term, regardless of circumstance, or worse, having to prove that a rape or incest has occurred, is not only invasive but unnecessarily cruel and dehumanizing.  Women deserve better than that.

Make no mistake, this decision is just the tip of the iceberg to take away the most basic human rights, and we stand ready to work with our partners in protecting the autonomy and privacy of Marylanders’ lives.

We are proud to have supported the successfully passed Abortion Care Access Act in the 2022 legislative session. This bill, which will expand abortion providers and training, will be necessary to help ensure that Maryland women as well as pregnant people who come to Maryland from across the country receive the vital care they need when they are making the most deeply personal choices of their lives. 

As we have for decades, MLAW will continue to support Marylanders’ full autonomy and vociferously put our full weight behind supporting Marylanders’ access to abortion.