Voting Records — 2008

Roll Call votes were recorded in 2008 for two  budget issues:

Abortion Funding
Each year, Marylanders are forced to fund abortions through the Maryland Medicaid program to the tune of roughly $2.5 million for reasons pertaining to the life or "health" of the mother, rape, incest, or fetal deformity. Recent DHMH statistics show that 99.8 percent of Medicaid abortions in Maryland are performed for "mental health" reasons.

Maryland taxpayers also are forced to fund abortion indirectly through state "family planning" grants awarded to organizations that promote and provide abortions (i.e., Planned Parenthood).  

Sen. Janet Greenip (R-33) offered an amendment to the budget in the Senate that would have given priority of family planning funding to organizations that do not promote or perform abortions. The amendment failed a vote of 16–28.

Del. Don Dwyer (R-31) offered an amendment to the budget in the House that would have prohibited the use of taxpayer funds for "mental health" abortions. The amendment was failed by a vote of 43–89.

Amendments to SB90 (abortion funding limits)
Senate Vote: Greenip Amendment

Note: X = a vote in support of the MDRTL position (for abortion funding limits);
O = a vote in opposition to the MDRTL position; NV = no vote;  EX = excused.

Amendments to SB90 (abortion funding limits)
House Vote: Dwyer Amendment

Note: X = a vote in support of the MDRTL position (for abortion funding limits);
O = a vote in opposition to the MDRTL position; NV = no vote;  EX = excused.

Stem Cell Funding
In his budget for FY2009, Gov. O'Malley proposed that $23 million of taxpayer dollars be allocated to the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund to be used on stem cell research grants, some of which require the destruction of human embryos.

Perhaps due to the budget crisis, the Senate Budget and Tax Committee cut the proposed funding to $5 million, and House Appropriations trimmed the proposal to $15 million.  

Sen. Alex Mooney (R-3) and Del. Tony McConkey (R-33A) offered floor amendments to the Governor's budget in their respective chambers that would have altogether omitted taxpayer funding for the Maryland Stem Cell Research Program.  Both amendments were voted down.  

In conference committee, select representatives from the House and Senate agreed to bump funding for this program back up to $19 million, with a possible $1 million addition pending on unanticipated revenues from the Cigarette Restitution Fund.

Maryland Right to Life testified in opposition to Maryland's Stem Cell Research program in both the House and Senate.

Amendments to SB90 (stem cell funding limits)
Senate Vote: Mooney Amendment

Note: X = a vote in support of the MDRTL position (for stem cell funding limits);
O = a vote in opposition to the MDRTL position; NV = no vote;  EX = excused.

Amendments to SB90 (stem cell funding limits)
House Vote: McConkey Amendment

Note: X = a vote in support of the MDRTL position (for stem cell funding limits);
O = a vote in opposition to the MDRTL position; NV = no vote;  EX = excused.

Attack on Crisis Pregnancy Centers

Maryland Right to Life was instrumental in stopping a bill in the 2008 General Assembly that would have crippled the ability of Maryland's Crisis Pregnancy Centers to serve women in need.

The bill would have required all pregnancy centers that do not provide abortions to tell their clients, "We are not required to provide factually accurate information." This would have undermined the credibility of the centers and confused the women who come to them for help.

Background
In early 2008, NARAL Pro-Choice Maryland released a report titled “The Truth Revealed,” which claimed that Maryland pregnancy centers threaten women's health by providing false information about abortion. The report was based on visits to 11 of Maryland's crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) by 12 NARAL interns posing as pregnant women in need. The NARAL report considered any mention of post-abortion syndrome or a possible increased risk of breast cancer following an abortion as examples of the “deception” supposedly practiced by the CPCs.

NARAL turned their allegations into a proposed bill known as SB690/ HB1146: Limited Service Pregnancy Centers-Disclaimers. The bill, sponsored by Sens. Richard S. Madeleno (D-18) and Jennie Forehand (D-17) and Del. Roger P. Manno (D-19), would have required CPCs to give a disclaimer upon their first interaction with a potential client.

In other words, CPC volunteers would have been forced to impugn their own integrity and undermine the confidence of women who come to them for free support, counseling, and financial assistance.

MDRTL's Response
Recognizing that CPCs do not lobby and would need aid in combatting this attack, MDRTL partnered with Nancy Paltell, pro-life representative of the Maryland Catholic Conference, to develop a defense strategy. The first step was to contact every CPC in the state and alert them to the danger. Next, MDRTL convened a meeting in the Annapolis office to discuss a defense strategy. Calls followed to CareNet, Heartbeat International, and the National Institute of Family & Life Advocates.

A coalition was born! Our mission: to show legislators that Maryland's CPCs are committed to strict standards of integrity; to defend the CPCs against NARAL's biased allegations; and to illustrate the harmful impact that this bill would ultimately have on the thousands of women who annually receive free services from Maryland's crisis pregnancy centers.

Success
The coalition put together a stellar line-up to testify at the Senate and House committee hearings. CPC directors and medical staff, licensed social workers, constitutional law attorneys, CPC clients, medical experts, and religious leaders testified in opposition to the bills. The committee members learned that Maryland's CPCs provide free services to more than 30,000 clients each year, at no cost to the state.

When the hearings were over, you went to work! Planned Parenthood Maryland, in its 2008 state legislative summary, said this about your efforts: "The Maryland pro-choice community did not generate the grassroots response to counter the huge anti-choice response."

So, kudos to all you "anti-choice" grass roots! Thanks to you, the bill died in both the House and Senate committees without a vote.

What Now?
The attack on crisis pregnancy centers is not over. Similar initiatives have been attempted in other states and at the federal level. We anticipate that Planned Parenthood Maryland and NARAL Pro-choice Maryland will bring this legislation back in the 2009 session.

Update — 2009
During the summer and fall of 2008, pro-abortion activists continued to target pregnancy centers, making phone calls and visits in an underhanded attempt to undercover supposed deceit or “harm to women.” Maryland Right to Life was prepared to fight once again to protect the pregnancy centers, but no effort on the part of NARAL Pro-choice Maryland or Planned Parenthood to muzzle the pregnancy centers ever materialized. MDRTL will continue monitoring the situation and will be vigilant to protect pregnancy centers from any further attacks in 2010 and beyond.

Read about the 2008 Attack on Maryland's Crisis Pregnancy Centers

Download 2008 House of Delegates Roll Call Vote

Download 2008 Senate
Roll Call Vote