The state will end the restriction that only doctors can have an abortion. The new law will allow nurses, nursing midwives and medical assistants to receive training. It creates an abortion care training program and requests $ 3.5 million in state funding each year. It also requires most insurance plans without paying for abortions.
Del. Emily Shetty that she supports the steps on the floor of the house as a mother at high risk of pregnancy. He also described being sexually assaulted in college and the hardships he experienced “in the weight of what happened after that incident”.
“And luckily, the accident didn’t lead to a pregnancy, but if it happened, it would radically change my life if I didn’t access the care I needed,” said Shetty, a Democrat.
Hogan wrote in his veto that the law “poses a threat to women’s health and lives by allowing abortions to non -doctors.”
The event came at a time when the conservative majority of the U.S. Supreme Court was considering whether Roe v. An important decision in 1973 prohibiting states from banning abortion.
If they do, at least 26 states are likely to ban abortion or strictly restrict access, according to the Gutmacher Institute, a research and policy organization that promotes abortion rights.
“In this context, it is very important to keep in mind that the strategies used by this bill are to ensure that people receive the care they need when they need it, no matter what happens in the rest of the country – no. “It doesn’t matter what happens in the Supreme Court,” Del said. Ariana Kelly, a Democrat who became the main sponsor of the bill.
Republican lawmakers criticized the bill, which allocates $ 3.5 million per year to pay for taxpayer training. Del Haven Schumacher, a House minority, described the bill as “the most radical abortion extension in Maryland history in a state that already has some of the most liberal abortion laws in the country.”
“Madam President, this bill is very strong, even for Maryland,” Schumacher, a Republican, said, referring to House Speaker Adrienne Jones, a Democrat.
Kelly said the move changes the choice of voters in the state made in 1992 when they supported the right to abortion, with 62% of voters nationwide voting in favor.
“It ensures that people have access to care, especially people of color, especially low -income people, especially in rural areas,” Kelly said. “We know that only physician restrictions exacerbate health inequalities and we seek to reduce health inequalities in the state of Maryland using this bill.”
The event will take effect on July 1st. The insurance provisions apply to all health policies, contracts and plans issued, delivered, or renewed in the state beginning Jan. 1.
Source: Huffpost
