Maryland Governor Wes Moore (D) signed a bill into law that allows the state to use millions of dollars to cover the cost of an abortion for those uninsured and underinsured.
The Maryland Department of Health can now access an estimated $25 million to cover abortions.
“The lieutenant governor and I were very clear, from day one, that Maryland will always be a safe haven for abortion access,” Moore said while signing the bill, as reported by the Maryland Daily Record. “Now we write the next chapter in our work to protect and defend basic health care rights.”
The law establishes a “Public Health Abortion Grant Program” to support abortion access in the state. It further establishes the “Public Health Abortion Grant Program Fund as a special, nonlapsing fund to provide grants under the Public Health Abortion Grant Program” and requires that “certain premium funds collected by health insurance carriers be used to provide certain coverage and to support improving access to abortion care clinical services under certain circumstances.”
In January, Moore signed a proclamation enshrining abortion into the state’s constitution. The constitutional amendment passed with more than three-quarters of Maryland voters.
“Since day one of my administration, I have made clear my support for a woman’s right to choose,” Moore said at the time. “In November, Marylanders voted overwhelmingly in favor of aligning Maryland’s constitution with our values. This amendment ensures that future generations of Marylanders will have the same reproductive rights Marylanders have today—no matter who is in office.”
