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Legislation to Watch
The 2010 Maryland legislative session has come to an end and NARAL Pro-Choice Maryland is pleased to report several victories. An abortion ban in the form of a “personhood” amendment to the Maryland Constitution was defeated in commitee. This initiative was designed to ban abortion and challenge Roe v. Wade by granting legal rights from the beginning of “biological development.” If enacted, it could have prevented access to IVF treatments and certain types of birth control. SB 250 was also defeated in committee. This bill would have created scripted communication around ultrasound between a woman and her health care provider and wrongly implied that Maryland women are not making informed decisions about abortion. Maryland abortion providers provide compassionate care to the women they serve without political interference. SB-250 was a thinly veiled attempt to chip away at a woman’s right to choose in Maryland. Additional measures to restrict Medicaid funding for abortion were defeated on the floors of the Senate and House of Delegates. This session, we supported the BPA-Free Baby Bottle Act that bans toys and children’s items containing bisphenol-A (BPA). BPA, a synthetic form of estrogen, directly impacts the reproductive health of boys, girls, men and women. Research suggests that BPA exposure may contribute to recurrent miscarriages, fertility problems in men and women, and early onset puberty. The bill was signed into law Governor O’Malley. With the enactment of this legislation, Maryland becomes a leader in preventing harmful chemical exposure in children! |
| Pro-Choice Legislation: |
| Child Care Articles and Toys Containing Bisphenol-A - Prohibition (House) |
| Bill Number: |
HB 33 [ view bill ] |
| Status: |
Passed and signed by Governor O'Malley. |
| Sponsor(s): |
Delegates Hubbard, Manno, and V. Turner |
Prohibiting the manufacture, sale, or distribution of specified toys or child care articles containing bisphenol-A; requiring a person to use the least toxic alternative; prohibiting a person from using specified carcinogens or specified reproductive toxicants when complying with the Act; providing for a penalty; etc.
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| Child Care Articles and Toys Containing Bisphenol-A - Prohibition (Senate) |
| Bill Number: |
SB 213 [ view bill ] |
| Status: |
Passed and signed by Governor O'Malley. |
| Sponsor(s): |
Senators Frosh, Dyson, Exum, Garagiola, Gladden, Harrington, Jones, Kelley, Lenett, Madaleno, Peters, Pinsky, Pugh, Raskin, and Rosapepe |
Prohibiting the manufacture, sale, or distribution of specified toys or child care articles containing bisphenol-A; requiring a person to use the least toxic alternative; prohibiting a person from using specified carcinogens or specified reproductive toxicants when complying with the Act; providing for a penalty; etc.
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| Family Planning Works Act (House) |
| Bill Number: |
HB 1358 [ view bill ] |
| Status: |
Unfavorable committee report; withdrawn. |
| Sponsor(s): |
Delegates Mizeur, Smigiel, Ross, Barkley, Barnes, Benson, Bronrott, Carr, Frick, Frush, Gaines, Gutierrez, Hixson, Hubbard, Ivey, Kaiser, Kramer, Kullen, Lee, Manno, McHale, McIntosh, Montgomery, Morhaim, Nathan-Pulliam, Niemann, Pena-Melnyk, Ramirez, Reznik, Rosenberg, V. Turner, and Valderrama |
Altering the eligibility requirements for family planning services under the Maryland Medical Assistance Program by requiring the Program to provide those services to all women whose family income is at or below 250 percent of the poverty level; and declaring the intent of the General Assembly to use any long-term savings from the Act to continue the operation of the Upper Shore Community Health Center in Chestertown, Maryland.
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| Family Planning Works Act (Senate) |
| Bill Number: |
SB 521 [ view bill ] |
| Status: |
Hearing Held February 24 |
| Sponsor(s): |
Senators Pugh, Frosh, Harrington, Jones, Lenett, Madaleno, Middleton, Peters, Raskin, and Rosapepe |
Altering the eligibility requirements for family planning services under the Maryland Medical Assistance Program by requiring the Program to provide those services to all women whose family income is at or below 250 percent of the poverty level; and declaring the intent of the General Assembly to use any long-term savings from this Act to continue the operation of the Upper Shore Community Health Center in Chestertown, Maryland.
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| Health Insurance - Coverage of in vitro fertilization services |
| Bill Number: |
HB 19 [ view bill ] |
| Status: |
Withdrawn |
| Sponsor(s): |
Delegate Waldsteicher |
Altering the circumstances under which specified insurers, nonprofit health service plans, and health maintenance organizations must provide coverage for specified benefits for outpatient services arising from specified in vitro fertilization procedures; etc.
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| Health Insurance - Coverage of in vitro fertilization services |
| Bill Number: |
HB 30 [ view bill ] |
| Status: |
Unfavorable Committee Report |
| Sponsor(s): |
Delegate Waldsteicher |
Altering the circumstances under which specified insurers, nonprofit health service plans, and health maintenance organizations must provide coverage for specified benefits for outpatient services arising from specified in vitro fertilization procedures.
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| Anti-Choice Legislation: |
| Health - Medical Procedures - Ultrasound Options |
| Bill Number: |
SB 250 [ view bill ] |
| Status: |
Unfavorable Committee Report |
| Sponsor(s): |
Senators Simonaire, Colburn, DeGrange, Haines, Harris, Jacobs, Mooney, Reilly, Stoltzfus, and Stone |
| Take Action: |
Click here to take action. |
Requiring physicians, under specified circumstances, to provide a pregnant woman the opportunity to view the active ultrasound image of the embryo or fetus and offer to provide the woman with a physical picture of the ultrasound image before the performance or inducement of an abortion; and requiring a physician to allow the pregnant woman to view the ultrasound image at no additional charge.
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| Maryland Personhood Amendment |
| Bill Number: |
HB 1078 [ view bill ] |
| Status: |
Unfavorable committee report. |
| Sponsor(s): |
Delegates Dwyer, Aumann, Bates, Boteler, Burns, Costa, Elliott, Impallaria, Jennings, King, Kipke, Krebs, McConkey, Miller, Minnick, O'Donnell, Schuh, Shank, Shewell, and Stocksdale |
Proposing an amendment to the Maryland Declaration of Rights to establish that the right not to be deprived of life is vested in all human beings, irrespective of age, health, function, physical dependency, or method of reproduction, from the beginning of their biological development; making technical changes; and submitting the amendment to the qualified voters of the State of Maryland for their adoption or rejection.
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