After Roe Fell: U.S. Abortion Laws by State

Expanded Access

Maryland

Abortion will remain legal in Maryland. In 2024, voters decided to amend the Maryland Constitution to create a right to reproductive freedom.

State Legal Details

Restrictions in Effect

  • Parental Involvement, Parental Notification Requirement
  • TRAP Requirements: Facilities, Facility Requirements
  • TRAP requirements: Providers, Transfer Agreement Requirement

Restrictions

Maryland law requires that a parent or legal guardian be notified about a minor’s abortion1 but physicians can waive notice in certain instances.2

Maryland’s targeted regulation of abortion providers (TRAP) laws include requirements related to facilities3 and transfer protocols.4

State Protections

On November 5, 2024, voters in Maryland approved the Right to Reproductive Freedom amendment, a constitutional amendment that enshrines the right to reproductive freedom, including making decisions to prevent, continue, or end one’s pregnancy, in the state constitution.5

Maryland law includes express statutory protections for abortion.6 Maryland requires public medical assistance programs to cover abortion services and private insurance plans that cover labor and delivery to also cover abortion services.7 The state allows nurse practitioners, nurse midwives, licensed midwives, and physician assistants to provide abortion care in addition to physicians.8

In 2023, Maryland enacted interstate shield laws protecting providers, patients, and people who help others access abortion from professional licensure consequences, the reach of out-of-state investigations and legal actions,9 and the disclosure of information.10 The state protects clinic access by preventing interference with entering and exiting a facility.11 In 2024, the state enacted a data privacy law, which prohibits companies from sharing or selling consumer health data without consumer consent.12

Post-Roe prohibitions

Maryland repealed its pre-Roe ban in 1991.13

Conclusion

Now that the Supreme Court has overturned Roe, abortion will remain legal in Maryland. In 2024, voters decided to amend the Maryland Constitution to create a right to reproductive freedom.

  1. MD. CODE., HEALTH-GEN. u00a7 20-103(a). ↩︎
  2. Id. u00a7 20-103(c)(1). ↩︎
  3. MD. CODE, HEALTH-GEN. u00a7 20-209; MD. CODE REGS. 10.12.01.01-20. ↩︎
  4. MD. CODE REGS. 10.12.01.10. ↩︎
  5. Scott Maucion, Abortion will be protected in the Maryland state constitution, NPR (Nov. 5, 2024). ↩︎
  6. MD. CODE, HEALTH-GEN. u00a7 20-209. ↩︎
  7. H.B. 937, 444th Leg., Reg. Sess. (Md. 2022). ↩︎
  8. H.B. 937 444th Leg., Reg. Sess. (Md. 2022), amending Md. Code, Health-Gen. u00a7u00a7 20-103, 207, 208. ↩︎
  9. S.B. 859, 445th Leg., Reg. Sess. (Md. 2023). ↩︎
  10. H.B. 477, 445th Leg., Reg. Sess. (Ma. 2023). ↩︎
  11. MD. CODE, CRIM. LAW u00a7 10-204. ↩︎
  12. S.B. 541, 446th Leg., Reg. Sess. (Md. 2024). ↩︎
  13. See 1991 Md. Laws 1 (repealing MD. CODE HEALTH – GENERAL CODE u00a7u00a7 21-201 through 20-206, 20-208, 20-210, and 20-211). ↩︎