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

Expanded Access

Maryland

Abortion rights in Maryland remain strongly protected, with constitutional guarantees for reproductive freedom.

State Legal Details

Restrictions in Effect

  • Parental Involvement, Parental Notification Requirement
  • TRAP Requirements: Facilities, Facility Requirements

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.1 On January 17, 2025, Governor Wes Moore signed a proclamation officially enshrining an individual’s fundamental right to reproductive freedom into the Maryland Constitution.2

Maryland law includes express statutory protections for abortion.3 Maryland requires public medical assistance programs to cover abortion services and private insurance plans that cover labor and delivery to also cover abortion services.4 The state allows nurse practitioners, nurse midwives, licensed midwives, and physician assistants to provide abortion care in addition to physicians.5

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,6 and the disclosure of information.7 The state protects clinic access by preventing interference with entering and exiting a facility.8 In 2024, the state enacted a data privacy law, which prohibits companies from sharing or selling consumer health data without consumer consent.9 The data privacy law also stipulates that a person cannot sell access to consumer health data unless the seller and purchaser of the data establish a virtual geofence around reproductive or sexual health facilities to prevent the identification, tracking, or collecting of consumer data.10

Restrictions

Maryland law requires that a parent or legal guardian be notified about a minor’s abortion11 but physicians can waive notice in certain instances.12

Maryland’s targeted regulation of abortion providers (TRAP) laws include requirements related to facilities13 and transfer protocols.14

Post-Roe prohibitions

Maryland repealed its pre-Roe ban in 1991.15

Conclusion

Now that the Supreme Court has overturned Roe, abortion rights in Maryland remain strongly protected, with constitutional guarantees for reproductive freedom.

  1. Declaration of Rights, Art. 48, Md. Const. (added by 2023 Leg., Ch. 245 (House Bill 705));
    Scott Maucion, Abortion will be protected in the Maryland state constitution, NPR (Nov. 5, 2024), https://www.npr.org/2024/11/05/g-s1-32723/abortion-will-be-protected-in-the-maryland-state-constitution. ↩︎
  2. Governor Moore Signs Proclamation to Enshrine Reproductive Freedom in Maryland’s Constitution, Office of the Governor Wes Moore (Jan. 15, 2025), https://governor.maryland.gov/news/press/pages/governor-moore-signs-proclamation-to-enshrine-reproductive-freedom-in-maryland%E2%80%99s-constitution.aspx. ↩︎
  3. Md. Code Ann., Health-Gen. § 20-209. ↩︎
  4. Md. Code Ann., Insurance § 15-857. ↩︎
  5. Md. Code Ann., Health-Gen. §§ 20-103, 207, 208. ↩︎
  6. Md. Codes Ann., Cts. & Jud. Proc. §§ 9-302, 9-402, 10-408, 11-802, Crim. Proc. § 9-106, Health Occ. § 1-227, Ins. §§ 15-857, 19-117, State Pers. & Pens § 2-312. ↩︎
  7. Md. Codes Ann., Cts. & Jud. § 9-302, State Pers. & Pens. § 2-312. ↩︎
  8. Md. Code Ann., Crim. Law § 10-204. ↩︎
  9. Md. Code Ann., Com. Law §§ 13-301, 14-4701 – 14-4714. ↩︎
  10. Md. Code Ann., Com. Law §14-4704. ↩︎
  11. Md. Code Ann., Health-Gen. § 20-103(a). ↩︎
  12. Md. Code Ann., Health-Gen. § 20-103(c)(1). ↩︎
  13. Md. Code Ann., Health-Gen. § 20-209; Md. Code Regs. 10.12.01.01-20. ↩︎
  14. Md. Code Regs. 10.12.01.10. ↩︎
  15. See 1991 Md. Laws 5 (repealing Md. Code Health – General Code §§ 21-201 through 20-206, 20-208, 20-210, and 20-211). ↩︎