Maryland voters will determine whether or not to enshrine abortion rights within the state’s structure subsequent yr, the state Common Meeting determined Thursday, inserting Maryland amongst a wave of deep-blue states erecting defenses round abortion entry as different states prohibit or criminalize the process.
Maryland
Maryland voters to see constitutional referendum on abortion rights
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Maryland Democrats who pushed for the placing reproductive rights into the state structure even have given preliminary approval to laws to protect sufferers and suppliers from prison legal guidelines handed in antiabortion states, in addition to to cover abortion care in digital medical data.
Each of these payments have cleared preliminary votes in each chambers and Gov. Wes Moore (D) promised to signal them, saying he needs to make Maryland “a protected haven for abortion.”
State-level leaders throughout the nation who help abortion rights worry courtroom rulings and actions in different states may erode protections inside their jurisdictions, they usually say the wave of restrictions already has created a chilling impact. Democratic attorneys normal filed a lawsuit making an attempt to safe entry to mifepristone, an abortion capsule, in an effort to counter a ruling anticipated in Texas. Governors together with Moore joined a 21-state “Reproductive Freedom Alliance” led by California to share methods on countering antiabortion efforts.
These legal guidelines are aimed toward stopping regulation enforcement exterior Maryland from bringing motion in opposition to medical suppliers, pharmacists and sufferers concerned in abortion care that’s authorized in a state. These actions may embrace lawsuits or the revocation of medical licenses for suppliers who function in a number of states, advocates of the legal guidelines mentioned.
“There’s been a concerted assault on reproductive well being all through the nation,” mentioned Michelle Siri, the manager director of the Ladies’s Legislation Heart of Maryland and advocates for so-called shielding legal guidelines she mentioned will “stop the lengthy arm of one other state from reaching into Maryland and intimidating our sufferers and our suppliers.”
Till final yr, Maryland lawmakers had not introduced a invoice debating abortion entry to the ground of the Common Meeting since 1991, when the Common Meeting voted to guard the best to the process for any motive up till viability, and beneath sure circumstances afterward. (Voters upheld that regulation with 62 % of the vote when antiabortion advocates petitioned it to referendum in 1992.)
Simply three different states have specific abortion protections of their constitutions — California, Vermont and Michigan, all handed in November 2022. 4 states expressly prohibit abortion rights of their state constitutions – Alabama, Louisiana, West Virginia and Tennessee, in response to the pro-abortion advocacy group the Guttmacher Institute.
The push to safeguard abortion entry is the fallout from final yr’s Supreme Court docket choice in Dobbs v. Jackson Ladies’s Well being Group that put states in charge of reproductive legal guidelines, overruling 50 years of federal abortion protections established in Roe v. Wade. A mottled panorama of state-by-state abortion entry adopted: inside two months of the June choice, one in three American ladies misplaced entry to abortion of their residence states, in response to a Washington Submit tally.
A overwhelming majority of Maryland voters help broad abortion rights.
A Washington Submit-College of Maryland ballot in September discovered 78 % supported a state constitutional modification defending the best to have an abortion in Maryland. And 67 % opposed the Supreme Court docket choice that there’s not a constitutional proper to abortion.
In September, West Virginia, which surrounds the northwestern flank of Maryland, handed a close to whole ban of the process. Maryland abortion suppliers and assist teams say there was each a rise in demand and a chilling impact for suppliers.
Priya Hay-Chatterjee, spokesperson for the nonprofit Baltimore Abortion Fund that helps folks entry the process, advised lawmakers that within the second half of 2022 – after the courtroom ruling – the group spent practically 6 instances extra supporting touring purchasers than within the first half of the yr. She mentioned defending an out-of-state lawsuit as a result of they helped a nonresident get to an abortion “may bankrupt small group” like theirs.
“We actually can’t afford to take the specter of litigation from different states calmly,” she mentioned.
With state lawmakers now on the entrance strains of a quickly altering nationwide panorama on abortion entry, a fourth invoice poised for last passage Thursday would require easy accessibility to contraception on faculty campuses.
Abortion rights activists are monitoring constitutional modification efforts in a dozen states.
At the very least eight states plus DC have already handed shielding legal guidelines that refuse to extradite folks over abortion lawsuits filed out of state. A few of these legal guidelines additionally refuse to acknowledge out-of-state subpoenas or to cooperate with out-of-state investigations.
Maryland’s shielding regulation, which may get a last vote as quickly as this week, would additionally make it unlawful to boost malpractice insurance coverage premiums for abortion suppliers focused by out-of-state legal guidelines.
“It basically creates a protect round our state for the suppliers and people in search of entry,” mentioned Sen. Will Smith (D-Montgomery), who sponsored the regulation. “States have tried to create moats round themselves.”
One other side of the protection is a invoice that may robotically cover sufferers’ data about abortion care from suppliers exterior of Maryland. If a Texas affected person, for instance, traveled to Maryland obtain an abortion however later sought take care of a associated or unrelated situation in an emergency room, these docs may see digital notes concerning the affected person’s abortion.
If handed, Maryland’s regulation would robotically cover that except a affected person explicitly requests it to be public.
Emily Guskin contributed to this report.
This story has been up to date with further context.
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Partial victory in effort to preserve historic Black cemetery in Maryland
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Maryland issues a new suicide prevention action plan for schools, families – WTOP News
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Suicide is the third leading cause of death for young people between the ages of 10 and 24 in Maryland. That’s according to a new suicide prevention action plan produced through the state’s Department of Health.
Suicide is the third leading cause of death for young people between the ages of 10 and 24 in Maryland. That’s according to a new suicide prevention action plan produced through the state’s Department of Health.
Scott Poland, the director of the Office of Suicide and Violence Prevention at Nova Southeastern University College of Psychology, talked to WTOP about the action plan he authored with his wife, Donna, who is a career educator.
The “Maryland Action Plan to Prevent Suicide in K-12 Schools” serves as a reference guide to school administrators and the community, and was developed in cooperation with the state health department’s Office of Suicide Prevention.
Poland said one thing that surprises people is that children as young as 8 years old may consider taking their own lives.
“I hear from school personnel all around the country (asking if they) have to take it seriously (if a fourth or fifth grader is talking about suicide). And the answer is absolutely yes,” Poland said.
Among the data points in the action plan is a survey of students in the “Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey of 2021/2022.” According to that survey, 21% of high school students “seriously considered suicide” in the past year, and 27% of middle schoolers considered suicide at some point in their lives.
Poland said it’s important to talk about suicide with young people, and that the idea that talking about it might encourage a young person to consider suicide is a “myth.”
“When we actually bring it up, it gives someone a chance to unburden themselves, to realize that they’re not alone, that there are alternatives and that there is help available,” Poland said.
But he said young people are most susceptible to imitating suicidal behavior: “It is important that we not glorify the suicide victim.”
Instead, Poland said, the emphasis after a suicide should be on healing those affected and helping them find appropriate ways to deal with their emotions and mental health.
The plan released this week includes providing intervention action plans for a young person who may be considering suicide.
“Part of that, of course, is removing lethal means and developing a written safety plan with them,” he said.
Poland said that can include helping people understand “the importance of calling 988, doing things that can calm themselves down,” and reaching out to the nearest trusted adult.
People can reach the national resource for crisis response services and suicide prevention by dialing 988.
Poland said social media is “wreaking havoc” on children’s emotional well-being, often making them feel “not smart enough, not rich enough, not good enough.” Poland said he’s currently working with the state of South Dakota on developing tools to help “young people be a little more mindful and make better decisions about their screen time.”
Poland said parents can help — when it comes to the hours and hours that many people spend online — by modeling healthy amounts of screen time themselves. And he said adults need to think about how they introduce technology to their kids.
“We’re in too (much of) a hurry to give kids smartphones and 24-hour internet access,” Poland said.
“I really have to compliment Maryland,” Poland said, on coming up with the new plan.
Poland said Maryland does not have an especially high rate of suicide, but “I think we all recognize that losing one young person to suicide is one too many.”
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Getting to know Michigan State football’s Week 2 opponent: Maryland
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Game two is coming up for Michigan State football as the Spartans hit the road for an early season Big Ten matchup against Maryland. The Terps have had MSU’s number in recent years, but the Spartans’ new-look team is ready to change that narrative this weekend.
Jonathan Smith and his staff have a lot to work on this week after a lackluster 16-10 win over Florida Atlantic, but we’ve become more than used to slow starts for MSU in their first game so it’s not time to panic just yet.
While the team wraps up their preparations for Maryland, let’s take a quick look at the Terps and see what we can learn about them before the big game on Saturday.
Maryland is off and running in their 2024 campaign and had an absolutely dominant week one performance. The Terps took on UConn at home and came away with an impressive 50-7 win. Sure UConn is an awful football program, but we saw how poorly Michigan State just did against a similar opponent.
Not only was the final score lopsided, but ever major statistical category was as well. Maryland doubled UConn in first downs and rushing yards, threw for nearly 400 passing yards and even won the turnover battle 3-0. The Terps also only had five penalties for 45 yards which is significantly better than MSU’s 12 for 140 yards against FAU.
Sure all of this took place against UConn, but it appears that Maryland is in a very good spot heading into this big week two matchup.
One thing that I thought would be a positive for Michigan State in this game is that Maryland is breaking in a new quarterback as well. The Terps’ quarterback, Billy Edwards Jr., went off against UConn and completed 20-of-27 passes for 311 yards and two touchdowns. He also is a capable runner and added 39 yards on the ground, so Michigan State will have its hands full on Saturday slowing him down.
The Terps don’t have one standout running back in the backfield, so that does benefit MSU. They do however have two solid backs in Roman Hemby and Nolan Ray who both ran for over 60 yards and one score each.
The one player however that Michigan State needs to pay the most attention to is wide receiver Tai Felton. He had one of the best Week 1 performances in the country as he recorded seven receptions for 178 yards and two touchdowns. Thankfully MSU’s defense and secondary looked much improved against FAU, so hopefully that carries over into this weekend’s matchup.
The opportunity in front of MSU on Saturday is massive. The Spartans are big underdogs in this matchup which they probably deserve, but a win would do wonders not just for the overall perception of the team but for their confidence moving forward.
I’ve got a strange feeling that we’re going to be very happy around 7 p.m. ET Saturday night.
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