Maryland Democrat Governor Signs Bills Enshrining Abortion and Protecting Transgender Drug and Surgical Treatments for Minors

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) signed bills Wednesday that enshrine abortion rights in state law and protect transgender medical treatments for minors, including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and transgender surgeries.

Moore said in a statement the new laws have “further strengthened our leave no one behind vision by protecting individual freedoms,” especially by “solidifying reproductive rights,” and “expanding access to healthcare.”

“Here in Maryland we are committed to righting the wrongs of the past and protecting the rights of all Marylanders in the future,” the governor added. “As long as I am governor, I will fight with everything I’ve got to ensure we’re creating a safe, equitable, and prosperous home for every Marylander.”

Moore signed S.B. 798, a Declaration of Rights – Right to Reproductive Freedom, which establishes “that every person, as a central component of an individual’s rights to liberty and equality, has the fundamental right to reproductive freedom;” S.B. 859, the Reproductive Health Protection Act, which prohibits judges in the state from requiring individuals to give testimony or evidence in cases that allege a violation of criminal law in other states for receiving or aiding others in accessing procedures that are protected in Maryland; S.B. 786, a bill that regulates the disclosure of certain information related to legally protected procedures by custodians of public records, health information exchanges, and electronic health networks; and S.B. 341, which would allow the creation and implementation of a system to provide college students with access to over-the-counter contraception.

In 2024, Maryland voters will approve or reject a ballot initiative that seeks to enshrine the right to abortion in the state’s constitution.

“I want to say to all the women who are out there who are wondering what will happen, who are worried about their future – please hear me loud and clear: Maryland will always be a safe haven for abortion access and abortion rights,” Moore said at the signing ceremony, according to CNN.

Moore also signed S.B. 460, the Trans Health Equity Act, which requires Medicaid to provide coverage for transgender drugs and surgeries in a “nondiscriminatory manner,” beginning January 1, 2024.

According to the governor’s office, the law requires that “gender-affirming treatment be assessed according to nondiscriminatory criteria that are consistent with current clinical standards.”

“This legislation prohibits the issuance of an adverse benefit determination related to gender-affirming treatment unless a certain experienced health care provider has reviewed and confirmed the appropriateness of the determination,” the statement said.

LGBTQ activists refer to the provision of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and transgender surgeries as “gender-affirming care.”

“The legislation signe​d today by Governor Moore will protect the health, wellbeing, and rights of all Marylanders,” Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller (D) also said. “While other states are dead set on ripping away reproductive rights and attempting to erase the existence of trans and nonbinary individuals, we’re doing the opposite: We’re making Maryland a state that is welcoming, inclusive, and that safeguards the rights of all people.”

The Biden administration remains fully committed to life-altering gender transition drugs and surgeries for young people.

Biden administration transgender Health and Human Services official Dr. Rachel [Richard] Levine recently praised the work of children’s hospitals, such as Connecticut Children’s Medical Center (CCMC) in Hartford, for their “gender-affirming care” clinics that provide children and teens with puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and transgender surgeries, including elective double mastectomies and castrations.

Levine assured CCMC gender clinic staff that transgender children would soon be normalized and that their work has “the highest support” of the Biden administration.

“I think that the wheel will turn on this,” Levine told the staff, asserting the transgender trend has grown more popular.

“I think that it’s not going to be politically advantageous,” the HHS official speculated about those who oppose their trans agenda. “It wasn’t particularly in 2022. And so, I think that as we look to all the different elections in 2024, I think the next two years are going to be challenging, but I am positive and optimistic and hopeful that the wheel will turn after that, and that this issue won’t be as politically and socially such a minefield.”

– – –

Susan Berry, PhD, is national education editor at The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected]
Photo “Wes Moore” by Wes Moore.

 

 

Related posts

Comments