Voters To Decide On Abortion Amendment In 2024

By Madison Hirneisen | The Center Square, The Center Square California

March 31, 2023

(The Center Square) – Come 2024, voters will decide whether to enshrine the right to reproductive freedom in the Maryland Constitution under a bill passed by the General Assembly this week.

Lawmakers in the Maryland General Assembly voted Thursday to pass a constitutional amendment that would enshrine reproductive rights in the state’s Constitution. The bill will become a referendum that goes before voters on the 2024 ballot for approval.

“I’ve been very clear from the beginning that as long as I am the Governor of Maryland, our state will be a safe haven for abortion access,” Moore said in a statement Thursday. “This constitutional amendment will make sure it remains that way, no matter who is in office. Our state is one step closer to ensuring the reproductive rights of future generations of Marylanders are enshrined in the Maryland Constitution.”

After Roe v. Wade was overturned last summer, voters in three states – California, Michigan and Vermont – approved constitutional amendments establishing a right to reproductive freedoms in their state Constitution.

Maryland’s law currently protects the right to an abortion, but Moore’s administration and Democratic lawmakers argued the amendment was necessary to permanently protect abortion access in the state.

According to Pew Research Center, "55% of Maryland adults identify as Democrats, 31% identify as Republicans and 14% have 'no lean.'” In order to amend the state Constitution, the proposed amendment must be approved by a simple majority of voters.

The constitutional amendment was introduced as part of a package of bills surrounding reproductive rights. Other measures in the package include a bill to require college campuses to develop reproductive health access plans and provide contraception to students and measures to increase privacy protections for medical records.

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