Legislation
2019 Maryland General Assembly Activity
Thank you for choosing MDRTL as your source for legislative information about life issues in Maryland. Our goal is to provide you with timely, accurate information. This page will be updated continually as the session progresses and as the status of bills change.
MDRTL is the only single-issue pro-life lobbying organization in Maryland. We retain a Legislative Director to monitor, take action upon, and lobby on behalf of those whose lives are threatened and cannot defend themselves. MDRTL is currently monitoring or engaged in lobbying efforts on the following bills, which may impact the right to life in Maryland.
Please watch this page for legislative updates and action alerts. We will provide information to help you take an active role in the legislative process, which may include contacting elected officials or providing written or oral testimony.
If you have questions and comments, please contact our Legislative Director at legislation@mdrtl.org.
(For a summary of seminal pro-life votes in prior General Assembly sessions, please refer to the right under "Roll Call Votes".)
2019 Maryland General Assembly Session
Below are CURRENT legislative issues MDRTL is working on in this year's General Assembly Session. This page will be updated as analyses on new bills are completed, so please check back regularly to get the latest information. Hearing dates and times are subject to change. To read and track these and other session bills, visit the Maryland General Assembly HOMEPAGE .
Direct Support of Pro-Life Legislation:
Women's Right to Know HB1075– SUPPORT. MDRTL has successfully identified a House sponsor for this bill which would require that women be given accurate medical facts before an abortion. These include risks associated with abortion, abortion alternatives, and nonjudgmental, scientifically accurate medical facts about the development of her child before making this permanent and life-affecting decision. This bill was heard in House Committee March 8th, and is due to be voted on in Committee. TAKE ACTION NOW.
Pain Capable, HB975 – SUPPORT. MDRTL has successfully identified sponsors in both chambers for this bill which would protect from abortion, unborn children who are capable of feeling pain. Substantial medical evidence demonstrates that unborn children are capable of experiencing pain certainly by 20 weeks after fertilization. This bill was heard in House Committee March 8th, and is due to be voted on in Committee. TAKE ACTION NOW.
Abortion Reporting Bill SB420/HB630– SUPPORT. MDRTL has been actively supporting this important bill, which would require the reporting of the number of abortions performed, by whom, or at what stage of pregnancy in the state. Maryland is one of only three states that does not require vital statistics reporting on abortion.
See additional pro-life bills below.
Defeat of Anti-Life Legislation:
Abortion Amendment HB1031– OPPOSE. MDRTL is preparing with partners and legislators to defeat this bill, which is anticipated to be introduced in the current legislative session. House of Delegates Speaker, Michael Busch has announced his plan to “enshrine abortion as a constitutional right” by amending our state Constitution, through referendum. This would prevent enforcement of any pro-life laws currently on the books and block any attempt to pass future pro-life legislation. The tactic is being used in several states to make abortions at any stage of pregnancy legal through BIRTH and to prevent passage of any future pro-life laws if the U.S. Supreme Court were to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. The most recent was Governor Andrew Cuomo who signed a law in New York making abortion on demand legal up to birth. TAKE ACTION TO DEFEAT THIS BAD BILL NOW.
Assisted Suicide Bill – OPPOSE. The Oregon-based special interest group Compassion & Choices has once again introduced legislation (Senate Bill 311/House Bill 399) that would legalize physician-assisted suicide (PAS) here in Maryland. A hearing on a hearing on Senate Bill 311 was heard Tuesday, February 19th in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, and is awaiting a vote. A hearing on House Bill 399 was heard Friday, February 15 in the House Health & Government Operations Committee. The House of Delegates passed the bill on March 7, by a narrow 12 votes. Maryland Right to Life (MDRTL) will be working closely with a coalition to prevent adoption of this dangerous legislation. We need your help to tell Senator Mike Miller and Governor Larry Hogan that our citizens need their protection from commercialized suicide and healthcare rationing. TAKE ACTION TO DEFEAT THIS BAD BILL NOW.
For additional information, please contact MDRTL's Legislative Director,
Laura Bogley-Knickman, J.D. at legislation@mdrtl.org.
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Bill Number |
XFile Bill Number |
Title |
Current Status |
Committee – House of Origin |
MDRTL Position |
|
POSITION KEY: S=SUPPORT, O=OPPOSE, E=ENGAGED IN LOBBYING, M=MONITORING BILL |
|||||
|
Delegate Busch - Declaration of Rights - Right of Bodily Integrity and Privacy – (Creates Constitutional Right to Abortion/Abortion on Demand) WITHDRAWN |
Hearing 3/08 at 1:00 p.m. |
Health and Government Operations |
OPPOSED |
||
|
End-of-Life Option Act (Richard E. Israel and Roger 'Pip' Moyer Act) (Decriminalizes Assisted Suicide) |
Hearing 2/15 at 1:30 p.m. (Health and Government Operations and Judiciary) |
Health and Government Operations/Judiciary |
OPPOSED |
||
|
Hearing 2/19 at 12:00 p.m. |
Judicial Proceedings |
||||
|
Maryland Department of Health - Family Planning Program – Funding (Blocks funds for Pregnancy Ctrs.) |
Hearing 3/06 at 1:00 p.m. |
Health and Government Operations |
OPPOSED |
||
|
SB0904 |
Rereferred to Finance |
||||
|
Public Health - State-Provided Health Care Benefits (Establishes Abortion Funding) |
Hearing 3/14 at 1:00 p.m. (Health and Government Operations) |
Health and Government Operations/Economic Matters |
OPPOSED |
||
|
Health Insurance - Consumer Protections (Codifies Affordable Care Act coverage for abortions.) |
Hearing 2/21 at 1:00 p.m. |
Health and Government Operations |
AMEND OR OPPOSE |
||
|
SB0868 |
Hearing 3/13 at 1:00 p.m. |
Finance |
|||
|
Health Insurance - Technical Correction and Required Conformity With Federal Law |
Hearing 1/10 at 1:30 p.m. |
Finance |
AMEND OR OPPOSE |
||
|
Budget Bill (Fiscal Year 2020) (Provides funding for abortions.) |
First Reading Appropriations |
Appropriations |
AMEND OR OPPOSE |
||
|
SB0125 |
First Reading Budget and Taxation |
Budget and Taxation |
|||
|
Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act |
Hearing 3/08 at 1:00 p.m. |
Health and Government Operations |
SUPPORT |
||
|
First Reading Rules |
|||||
|
Health - Informed Consent (Woman's Right to Know Act) |
Hearing 3/08 at 1:00 p.m. |
Health and Government Operations |
SUPPORT |
||
|
Health - Abortions - Reporting Requirements |
Hearing 3/08 at 1:00 p.m. |
Health and Government Operations |
SUPPORT |
||
|
Hearing 3/15 at 1:00 p.m. |
Finance |
||||
|
Criminal Law “ Homicide “ Fetus |
Hearing 3/8 at 1:00 p.m. |
Health and Government Operations |
SUPPORT |
||
|
Hearing 2/22 at 12:00 p.m. |
Judicial Proceedings |
||||
|
Abortion - Detection of Fetal Heartbeat |
Hearing 3/08 at 1:00 p.m. |
Health and Government Operations |
SUPPORT |
||
|
HB0978 |
Abortions - Detection of Fetal Heartbeat (Keep Our Hearts Beating Act) |
Hearing canceled |
Health and Government Operations |
SUPPORT |
|
|
HB1101 |
Health - Mifepristone - Administration |
Hearing 3/08 at 1:00 p.m. |
Health and Government Operations |
SUPPORT |
|
|
HB1151 |
Health - Abortion - 24-Hour Waiting Period |
Hearing 3/08 at 1:00 p.m. |
Health and Government Operations |
SUPPORT |
|
|
HB1193 |
Health - Abortion - Facility Requirements |
Hearing 3/08 at 1:00 p.m. |
Health and Government Operations |
SUPPORT |
|
|
Health - Maryland Fetal Heartbeat Protection Act |
Hearing 3/08 at 1:00 p.m. |
Health and Government Operations |
SUPPORT |
||
|
Health Benefit Plans- Enrollment for Pregnancy |
Hearing 2/07 at 2:00 p.m. |
Health and Government Operations |
E |
||
|
SB0036 |
Hearing 2/06 at 1:30 p.m. |
Finance |
|||
|
HB0049 |
Recoupment of the Health Insurance Provider Fee - Calculation |
Hearing 2/14 at 1:00 p.m. |
Health and Government Operations |
M |
|
|
HB0077 |
Criminal Law - Decriminalization of Attempted Suicide |
Second Reading Passed with Amendments |
Judiciary- Favorable w. Amendments |
E |
|
|
SB0395 |
Hearing 2/20 at 12:00 p.m. |
Judicial Proceedings |
|||
|
HB0145 |
Hospitals - Patient's Bill of Rights |
Hearing 2/06 at 2:00 p.m. |
Health and Government Operations |
M |
|
|
SB0301 |
|||||
|
HB0155 |
Maryland Department of Health - Capital and Grant Programs - State Grants |
Hearing 2/28 at 1:00 p.m. |
Appropriations |
M |
|
|
SB0164 |
Hearing 2/27 at 1:00 p.m. |
Budget & Taxation |
|||
|
HB0167 |
Juvenile Causes - Safe Haven Newborns |
Hearing 2/07 at 1:00 p.m. |
Judiciary |
M |
|
|
HB0247 |
Maryland Health Care Commission - Surgical Birth Rate - Study |
Hearing 2/13 at 1:00 p.m. |
Health and Government Operations |
M |
|
|
SB0445 |
Hearing canceled |
Finance |
|||
|
HB0365 |
State Grants and Contracts - Reimbursement of Nonprofit Indirect Costs - Application |
Hearing 2/12 at 1:00 p.m. |
Health and Government Operations |
M |
|
|
SB0017 |
Passed Senate/ First Reading Health and Government Operations 2/15 |
Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs -Favorable w/ Amendments |
|||
|
HB0419 |
Pharmacists - Administering Injectable Medications and Biological Products |
Hearing 2/19 at 1:00 p.m. |
Health and Government Operations |
M |
|
|
SB0577 |
Hearing 2/26 at 1:00 p.m. (Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs) |
Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs/Finance |
|||
|
HB0455 |
Physicians - Discipline - Procedures and Effects |
Hearing 2/19 at 1:00 p.m. |
Health and Government Operations |
M |
|
|
HB1152 |
Interstate Human Trafficking of Minors Prohibition Act |
Hearing 3/07 at 1:00 p.m. |
Judiciary |
M |
|
|
HB1201 |
Task Force on Educational Outcomes of Pregnant and Parenting Students in High School and GED Programs |
Hearing 2/22 at 1:00 p.m. |
Ways and Means |
M |
|
|
SB0972 |
Rereferred to Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs |
Senate Rules |
|||
|
SB0098 |
Family Law - Child Conceived Without Consent - Child Support |
Hearing 1/30 at 2:00 p.m. |
Judicial Proceedings |
M |
|
|
SB0103 |
Criminal Law - Electronic Harassment and Bullying (Grace's Law 2.0) |
Passed Senate/ First Reading Judiciary 2/8 |
Judicial Proceedings - Favorable w/ Amdts |
M |
|
|
HB0181 |
Hearing 2/07 at 1:00 p.m. |
First Reading Judiciary |
|||
|
SB0315 |
Insurance Law - Application to Direct Primary Care Agreements - Exclusion |
Hearing 2/20 at 1:00 p.m. |
Finance |
M |
|
|
SB0356 |
Health - Maternal Mortality Review Program - Reporting Requirement |
Second Reading Passed |
Finance-Favorable |
M |
|
|
HB0583 |
Hearing 2/27 at 1:00 p.m. |
Health and Government Operations |
|||
|
SB0406 |
Prenatal and Infant Care Coordination - Grant Funding and Task Force |
Hearing 2/14 at 1:00 p.m. |
Finance |
M |
|
|
HB0520 |
Hearing 2/27 at 1:00 p.m. |
Health and Government Operations and Appropriations |
|||
|
SB0569 |
Public Safety - Rape Kit Testing Grant Fund - Established |
Hearing 2/27 at 12:00 p.m. (Judicial Proceedings) |
Judicial Proceedings/Budget and Taxation |
M |
|
|
HB1268 |
Hearing 2/21 at 1:00 p.m. |
Appropriations |
|||
|
SB0602 |
Public Health - Maternal Mortality Review Program - Establishment of Local Teams |
Hearing 2/14 at 1:00 p.m. |
Finance |
M |
|
|
HB0796 |
Hearing 2/27 at 1:00 p.m. |
Health and Government Operations |
|||
|
SB0658 |
Maryland Legal Services Corporation - End-of-Life Legal Services Pilot Program |
Hearing 2/28 at 12:00 p.m. |
Judicial Proceedings |
M |
|
|
SB0767 |
Criminal Procedure - Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kits - Analysis |
Hearing 2/27 at 12:00 p.m. |
Judicial Proceedings |
M |
|
|
HB1096 |
Hearing 3/06 at 1:00 p.m. |
Judiciary |
|||
Roll Call Votes:
(download PDFs)
- 2016 General Assembly
- 2015 General Assembly
- 2014 General Assembly
- 2013 General Assembly
- 2012 General Assembly
- 2011 General Assembly
- 2010 General Assembly
- 2009 General Assembly
- 2008 General Assembly
- 2007 General Assembly
- 2006 General Assembly
Legislative Resources:
STAY CONNECTED:
Maryland Right to Life • 420 Chinquapin Round Rd., Suite 2-I • Annapolis, MD 21401