Ohio is the most recent state to make abortion a constitutional right, with voters in the swing state overwhelmingly voting to pass an amendment in November.
Maryland’s proposed amendment says that “every person, as a central component of an individual’s rights to liberty and equality, has the fundamental right to reproductive freedom, including but not limited to the ability to make and effectuate decisions to prevent, continue, or end one’s own pregnancy.”
“The state may not, directly or indirectly, deny, burden, or abridge the right unless justified by a compelling state interest achieved by the least restrictive means,” the amendment says.
The bill was overwhelmingly approved by the state House of Delegates and the Senate, both of which are controlled by Democrats.
A similar bill in 2022 proposing a referendum adding abortion protections to the constitution passed the state house 93-42 but failed in the Senate after the Senate president chose to focus on other bills expanding abortion access.
According to MarylandMatters.org, a spokesperson for the senate president said the 2022 bill was seen as a “response to the national politics and … what many people will think will happen,” referring to the anticipation of the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe.