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Pro-life advocates are seen March 7, 2016, in Annapolis, Md. (CNS photo/Kevin J. Parks, Catholic Review)

Catholics urged to oppose bills that would expand abortion in Maryland


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Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, Local News, Maryland General Assembly, News, Respect Life

The Maryland Catholic Conference has urged Catholics and other pro-lifers to actively oppose several bills being considered by the state’s lawmakers in Annapolis that would broaden and strengthen laws a right to abortion laws in Maryland.

“Given that abortion is ubiquitous in our state, Maryland women are not looking for abortion expansion, but rather help with the basic necessities they need to survive and thrive,” said Jenny Kraska, executive director of the Maryland Catholic Conference. “It is not more abortion that Maryland needs, but a clear understanding of the diverse demographic in our state and support and resources for growing families.”

Several measures to protect a right to abortion and expand the availability of abortion are being considered in the House of Delegates.

A bill introduced by House Speaker Adrienne Jones, a Democrat, would make abortion a right protected by the state’s constitution. Jones’s measure would put the issue forth as a ballot referendum to be decided by state voters.

“This is the most serious and all-encompassing abortion bill introduced this session,” said Susan Gibbs, a spokesperson for the Maryland Catholic Conference, the public policy arm of the Washington and Baltimore archdioceses and the Diocese of Wilmington, Delaware. The Washington Archdiocese and the Wilmington Diocese include a number of Maryland counties.

Two other abortion bills have been introduced in the House by Democratic Delegate Ariana Kelly.

One measure would require insurance plans to cover the cost of an abortion without copayments or deductible payments by the recipient. It does include a religious exemption. It would also make permanent Medicaid coverage of abortion. Right now, that coverage is voted on each year during the budget process.

The other bill introduced by Kelly would repeal state restrictions against physician assistants, nurse midwives and nurse practitioners from performing abortions. It would also provide training for nurses and doctors who relocate to Maryland to avoid stricter abortion laws in other states.

“These kinds of bills, which include expanding insurance coverage of abortion and allowing non-physicians to perform abortions, don’t offer women alternatives to abortion, and so become reproductive coercion, especially for low-income women, immigrants and women of color,” Kraska said.

Maryland State senators will consider a bill that would protect from civil and criminal liability abortion providers or people providing support to someone seeking an abortion.

Gibbs said the Maryland Catholic Conference has created “action alerts” for the measures being considered by the House of Delegates and the Senate, and “we also have set up an online petition so parishes and individuals can speak up against the constitutional amendment.”

“We must do better as a society to walk with mothers in need and help break down economic, social, racial, employment and emotional barriers that lead mothers into thinking abortion is the only option,” Kraska said.

The flurry of abortion-related bills in Maryland and other states is in reaction to what some see as a very real possibility that Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 decision virtually guaranteeing abortion on demand, could be overturned or severely limited.

Right now, the Supreme Court justices are considering the constitutionality of a Mississippi law that bans most abortions in that state after the 15th week of pregnancy. A decision in the case — Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization – is expected in June or July.

If the court’s ruling in Dobbs overturns the court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion nationwide, it will leave it to the states to make abortion policies.

Also, in January, the high court decided not to overturn a lower court’s ruling that lets stand while it is being challenged a Texas law giving citizens the ability to sue doctors, nurses, or any others who help someone obtain an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy.

Pro-life leaders in the Archdiocese of Baltimore have emphasized the need to strengthen the work of pregancy resource centers and other supportive networks in the state. Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori, chairman of the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, is a strong proponent of “Walking with Moms in Need.” The parish-based outreach, active in one third of the parishes in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, is a ministry sponsored by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. 

The Catholic Church and its people stand ready not only to help expectant mothers bring their pregnancies to term but to assist women who have had abortions, Archbishop Lori said. 

In January, Archbishop Lori urged all people of goodwill from all faiths to pray and fast for the pro-life cause.

“We pray that the court will do the right thing and allow states to once again limit or prohibit abortion, and in doing so protect millions of unborn children and their mothers from this painful, life-destroying act,” he said.

Catholic Review staff contributed to this story. 

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