Maryland
New Maryland clinic opening in post-Roe ‘abortion desert’
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A brand new abortion supplier is opening this 12 months in Democratic-controlled Maryland — simply throughout from deeply conservative West Virginia, the place state lawmakers just lately handed a near-total abortion ban.
The Ladies’s Well being Middle of Maryland in Cumberland, roughly 5 miles (8 kilometers) from West Virginia, will open its doorways in June — a 12 months after the U.S. Supreme Courtroom overturned federal abortion protections — to supply abortions to sufferers throughout central Appalachia, a area clinic operators say is an “abortion desert.”
“Hours in any course, there are not any different abortion suppliers right here — it’s smack dab in the course of an absolute abortion desert, and that’s by design,” stated Katie Quiñonez, government director of the Charleston-based Ladies’s Well being Middle of West Virginia, the state’s lone abortion clinic till it was compelled to cease the procedures after legislators in September handed a ban with slender exemptions.
The Cumberland clinic would be the solely impartial reproductive well being care middle within the space and the western-most supplier of surgical and medical abortion and gender-affirming hormone remedy in Maryland. Quiñonez, who will even function the Maryland clinic’s government director, stated the power might be a extra accessible choice for sufferers in northern West Virginia, western Maryland, south central Pennsylvania and Ohio, the place an abortion ban is beneath injunction.
Impartial abortion clinics present most abortions within the U.S. — particularly for folks with low-incomes who dwell in remoted, rural states hostile to abortion entry. The clinics usually tend to provide abortion after the primary trimester and to supply each surgical and medicine abortion choices, in response to the Abortion Care Community, the nationwide affiliation for impartial abortion care suppliers.
Dozens of impartial clinics throughout the nation have been compelled to shut their doorways because the U.S. Supreme Courtroom overturned Roe v. Wade, and in 14 states, there are not any abortion clinics in any respect.
At the least 66 clinics in 15 states have stopped offering abortions because the choice, in accordance the Guttmacher Institute, a analysis group that helps abortion rights. The variety of clinics offering abortions in these 15 states dropped from 79 to 13 by October of final 12 months, with the remaining clinics in Georgia.
When West Virginia lawmakers handed their sweeping abortion ban, a number of members of the Republican majority stated they hoped it might pressure the Ladies’s Well being Middle of West Virginia to close down. Republican Sen. Robert Karnes stated he believed shuttering the middle was “going to save lots of quite a lot of infants.” Brandon Steele, a Republican within the state’s Home of Delegates, referred to as abortion entry “a scar” and “a curse” lawmakers needed to “take away from this land.”
West Virginia sufferers searching for an abortion now need to take time without work work, journey tons of of miles and pay for lodging and different lodging, “all to get fundamental well being care,” Quiñonez stated.
“Our communities deserve higher — folks ought to have the ability to entry abortion care at once or limitations,” she stated.
The Ladies’s Well being Middle of Maryland will present abortion providers into the second trimester and can settle for Maryland Medicaid, which covers abortion. It should additionally provide annual exams, contraception, testing and therapy for sexually-transmitted ailments, in addition to breast and cervical most cancers screenings.
Though no abortions could be supplied there, West Virginia’s clinic continues to be open and gives different reproductive well being care and hard-to-find providers, like gender-affirming hormone remedy. However Quiñonez stated they nonetheless get calls from anxious sufferers who don’t know the place to go for an abortion. Till the Maryland clinic opens and might take referrals, her workers has no different choice however to ship callers to an internet site to search out out-of-state providers.
Since January 2022, the clinic’s abortion fund has distributed $150,000 for greater than 800 folks, principally West Virginia residents.
Maryland has a Democratic governor and a Democratic-controlled Normal Meeting that has proven dedication to preserving abortion entry. Abortion is authorized in Maryland till about 24 weeks into being pregnant.
The closest impartial reproductive well being clinic to Cumberland that gives abortion and gender-affirming hormone remedy is a Deliberate Parenthood 90 miles (145 kilometers) away in Frederick. That facility gives treatment abortion solely.
A better clinic in Hagerstown is open for abortions throughout restricted hours a number of instances a month. It gives first-trimester abortions solely and doesn’t settle for Maryland Medicaid — a barrier to low-income sufferers, Quiñonez stated. In any other case, sufferers should journey greater than 100 miles (161 kilometers) to Pittsburg and even additional, to Baltimore or Washington, D.C.
Renovations began final week on the Cumberland clinic — crews had been putting in new medical gear and signage, deep cleansing, making use of recent paint, changing flooring and patching drywall.
The associated fee for the power, licensing and renovations is roughly $1.17 million. First-year working prices — to incorporate payroll, constructing operations — are projected to be round $763,000. Each the West Virginia and Maryland clinics are funded by donations, foundations and organizations in assist of increasing abortion entry within the U.S.
The Ladies’s Well being Middle of Maryland could have its personal funds and, ultimately, state-based board of administrators. The Ladies’s Well being Middle of West Virginia’s administrators will act because the board whereas the group recruits new, locally-based members.
“Of us have all the time wanted abortions — because the starting of time,” Quiñonez stated. “And they’re going to all the time want abortions till the tip of time. We’re going to preserve combating to get each affected person the care they want.”
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Maryland
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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Maryland
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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