ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Abortion clinics in Maryland could pay for improved safety and greater access through a grant program being considered by state lawmakers, who want to tap millions of dollars left unused by insurance as part of the federal Affordable Care Act.
Supporters testified Wednesday that Maryland has seen a rise in demand for its abortion clinics, including from out-of-state women, since the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Roe v. Wade in June 2022. Safety concerns, long an issue at clinics, have also been present. Increasingly, the bill’s proponents told the Maryland Senate Finance Committee during a hearing on the bill.
Maryland lawmakers have taken steps to expand access to abortion in anticipation of more women coming for services from other states that have banned or restricted abortion. Maryland voters will decide in November whether to enshrine the right to abortion in a constitutional amendment.
Sen. Ariana Kelly, a Democrat who is sponsoring the legislation, said abortion providers reported an increase in assaults, battery, burglaries, stalking and bomb threats in 2022.
“This is a real concern that really impacts people’s ability to access care, and that’s why I’m here today with this legislation,” Kelly said.
Robyn Elliott, who represents the Women’s Law Center of Maryland and the Maryland Affiliate of the American College of Nurse-Midwives, told lawmakers that health care providers are facing “a crisis,” and she described the measure as “a very innovative way to move forward in the field of healthcare”. Maryland.”
“On behalf of the healthcare providers we represent, their safety and security is something they are increasingly concerned about over time, as well as that of their patients,” Elliott said.
The measure would create a fund by using millions of dollars collected from insurance companies over the years, Kelly said. The federal health care law required insurers to collect $1 each month from every person who buys health insurance on a health care exchange that can only be used for abortion care services, she said.
In 2022, the state required insurers to submit a report on those funds every year. Since 2014, the amount has grown to about $18 million and is expected to grow by about $3 million per year, Kelly said.
The grant program would be administered by the state health department. The money would be used for security infrastructure and personnel, such as cameras and lighting, so staff at clinics outside the clinic can monitor where protesters interact with patients, sometimes right up to the clinic door, Kelly testified.
Lynn McCann is co-director of the Baltimore Abortion Fund, a nonprofit organization that provides support to people seeking abortion services. She said her organization’s confidential helpline has received a large increase in calls and was forced to close last month when funding ran out.
“As costs and requirements skyrocket, our nationwide network of abortion funds, clinics and providers that facilitate abortion access are truly being pushed to the brink,” McCann said.
Laura Bogley, executive director of Maryland Right to Life, which opposes abortion, testified against the legislation. She said abortion advocates have created a “manufactured crisis.”
“Abortion activists have worked throughout the Legislature to create Maryland as an abortion tourism destination and now they expect Maryland taxpayers to pay for abortions for women trafficked in from out of state,” Bogley testified.
Currently, 14 states maintain bans on abortion at all stages of pregnancy, and two more states have bans that begin after the first six weeks – often before women realize they are pregnant. Other Republican-controlled states have imposed lighter restrictions.
Meanwhile, most Democratic-controlled states, such as Maryland, have taken steps to protect access to abortion.