BALTIMORE — Marylanders voted overwhelmingly Tuesday in favor of enshrining access to reproductive rights, including abortion, in the state constitution.
According to The Associated Press, about 75% of Maryland voters voted in favor of Question 1, which guarantees “every person … the fundamental right to reproductive freedom,” including the ability to “prevent, continue, or terminate one’s own pregnancy” without state interference, once adopted in the Maryland Constitution.
Although the word “abortion” is not explicitly mentioned in the language, it is an implicit protection under the right to terminate a pregnancy.
“I just think that’s a very personal choice and the fewer barriers to accessing that freedom, the better,” Belinda Sacco, 31, said Tuesday of her vote for the ballot question outside the polling place at Gunpowder Elementary School.
The ballot question was initially proposed by Maryland House of Delegates Speaker Adrienne A. Jones, a Democrat from Baltimore County, in 2022, prior to the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning the Roe v. Wade precedent. It disappeared from the House of Representatives chamber that year, but lingered in the Senate.
Legislation that would include the question of voting on the 2024 presidential election passed both chambers in 2023. Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, signed the legislation in May, signaling his support.
The Legislature has previously taken similar steps to protect reproductive rights in Maryland.
In 1991, the Maryland General Assembly passed legislation allowing abortions to be performed until a fetus has reached viability, which typically occurs at about 24 weeks. After that, patients can only receive abortion care if there is a fetal abnormality or to protect their health. That law was codified through a referendum in 1992.
Reproductive rights are a top priority for many voters this election cycle, as the country continues to restructure access following the overturning of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade. Vice President Kamala Harris and Maryland U.S. Senate candidate Angela Alsobrooks, both Democrats, have cast themselves as champions of reproductive rights since the start of their respective campaigns.
“Me and my partner are childfree, so the idea of not having that option in the future is problematic and scary,” Ellicott City resident Danielle Brantley, 34, said when asked why she voted for Harris.
Sharon Jacobs, 57, of Harford County, said she voted with the intention of protecting women’s rights for her 16-year-old daughter.
“I want her to have options as an adult,” Jacobs said.
_____
