Tag: reproductive health care

Protecting Privacy for Reproductive Health Care

| by delsandy | Uncategorized | No Comments

This afternoon, the House passed the bill protecting the privacy of women who receive reproductive health care in Maryland.

There was no floor debate.  I attribute that to the merits of House Bill 812.

As the bill’s sponsor, I prepared the following remarks.

When this General Assembly codified the holding of Roe V Wade and the voters of this state approved that law on referendum, 62-38%, there was no mention of the provision of care for women from out-of-state.

There was no need to do so.  No one expected people to come to Maryland for reproductive health care.  Roe protected that fundamental right throughout the United States.

That, as we all know, is no longer the case.

Patients will seek care in Maryland because they face criminal prosecution and civil liability if they do so in the state where they live.

However, they don’t escape that threat if they obtain reproductive care in a state where it is legal, such as Maryland.

In addition, their health care providers are also liable under the laws of several states.

Marylanders who travel to certain states and need health care are also vulnerable.

HB 812 protects those patients and their health care providers by regulating the disclosure of medical information relevant to their reproductive health care by custodians of public records, health care providers, health information exchanges, and dispensers.

The bill’s language is the result of discussions with the relevant parties – most notably the Maryland Health Care Commission and CRISP, the state-designated health information exchange.

The dates of implementation are staggered, and consultation with the General Assembly during this process is mandated.

 

Action on the House Floor and Elsewhere

| by delsandy | Uncategorized | No Comments

There’s language I’m trying to add to the budget bill.

There’s language in the budget bill I’m trying to revise or delete.

I was told that my legislation on domestic terrorism would be reported to the House floor.

Then I ran into the floor leader for the bill.

He asked me for my thoughts on two issues he expected to be asked about during the floor debate tomorrow.

My Election Reform Act of 2023 passed  House,

The bill moves next year’s primary election date to avoid a conflict with Passover and Ramadan.

It also requires better notice to a community about a proposed change in its polling place.

Tomorrow, I’ll be defending my bill protecting the privacy of women who receive reproductive health care and the people who provide that care, when it’s debated on the House floor.

Safe Havens

| by delsandy | Uncategorized | No Comments

The witness, Laura Bogley, Executive Director, Maryland Right to Life, was testifying in opposition to the reproductive freedom constitutional amendment.

“The state is failing to invest in and promote lifesaving alternatives to abortion like quality prenatal care, the Maryland Safe Haven Program, affordable adoption programs and foster care reform.”

The Safe Havens program sounded familiar.

I found this description on the Department of Human Services website.

“In Maryland, no one ever has to abandon a newborn baby. Under the Safe Haven law, a distressed parent who is unable or unwilling to care for their infant can safely give up custody of their baby, no questions asked. Newborns can be left at hospitals or law enforcement stations.”

Safe Haven

Then I asked a research librarian to find the bill that authorized the program.

It’s House Bill 602, the Maryland Safe Haven Act of 2002.

I was the principal co-sponsor.

I also asked the General Assembly’s budget staff to analyze whether the state is adequately supporting the Safe Haven program.

Then I spoke to a pro-life delegate about working together on this issue.

Entitled to express their views

| by delsandy | Uncategorized | No Comments

The General Assembly is not a law school class.

I tell that to the students in my Legislation class.

Today, I said that to some colleagues in Annapolis.

The issue was the constitutional amendment protecting a woman’s fundamental right to reproductive freedom.

We shouldn’t rely on an abstract legal discussion of the additional protections a constitutional amendment provides compared to a statute.

Make this argument instead:

The voters of Maryland, especially the women, are entitled to express their views on an issue that will seriously affect their well being.  And that of their health care providers too.

At the ballot box.

All that I’ve learned

| by delsandy | Uncategorized | No Comments

House Bill 812 is the bill in the reproductive health care package that I’m sponsoring.

This morning, I began my study of the legislation – to review what the bill would do and why that’s needed.

And to strategize about how to present the bill in the most appropriate and persuasive way.

HB 812 would provide additional privacy protections for medical records to reduce the risk of criminal prosecution or civil litigation for out-of-state patients seeking reproductive care in Maryland and for the health care professionals who provide it.

For every bill that I introduce, I apply all that I’ve learned over the years to make the case to get it passed.

This time, even more so.

The stakes are too high.

A Middle Course – Then and Now

| by delsandy | Uncategorized | No Comments

After the General Assembly passed the bill that made Roe v. Wade’s legal standard the law of Maryland, a referendum followed.  62% voted Yes.

This week, we announced a legislative agenda to protect the women who need reproductive health care, as well as the people who provide that care.

The legislation I am sponsoring would enable a woman to keep private data associated with her treatment.

Why do we need such a bill?

The laws of Texas and other states put a woman and her care providers at risk of criminal prosecution or civil action.

Denying access to this data reduces the risk of people being hauled into court.

“We believe that most Marylanders would prefer a middle course on this issue,” the House Republican Caucus responded in a statement.

As noted above, a clear majority of Maryland voters agreed with the action we took in 1992.

In no small measure because of the anti-choice laws passed by other states, I believe the voters also agree with the course we are taking now.

That can include bipartisan efforts to address the needs of newborns and their families.

See In Post-Roe World, These Conservatives Embrace a New Kind of Welfare  https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/10/us/conservatives-child-care-benefits-roe-wade.html

Answering the Question

| by delsandy | Uncategorized | No Comments

Why do we need this bill?

That, you may recall, is the question that every bill sponsor must answer.

This session, we will debate amending the state constitution to protect a woman’s right to make decisions about her reproductive health care.

It’s been listed in several press accounts of the priorities for the upcoming session.

Such an amendment would prevent a future legislature from passing a bill limiting these rights.

There will also be a bill to protect a woman from Pennsylvania or Virginia, for example, who comes to Maryland for health care that is legal here but not in her home state.

That woman may be subject to civil or criminal penalties back home.

Health care providers, Uber drivers, and anyone else who provides a service for that person may also be subject to these penalties.

We need to educate everyone – legislators, the press, and our constituents, why we need this bill.

I discussed with a colleague today how best to do this.

I’ll let you know what we decide.

Factual funding

| by delsandy | Sandy's 2017 Legislative Diary | No Comments

“This is a reminder to the body that this bill puts funding in the hands of 10 clinics, instead of in the hands of 93 community health centers.”

The minority whip said this before the vote on House Bill 1083, which would preserve public funding for women’s reproductive health services if the Congress and President Trump defund Planned Parenthood.

What my Republican colleague said is not true.

The State of Maryland would not be funding Planned Parenthood clinics, instead of community health centers.

The women of Maryland would be making that choice instead.

If someone decides that she wants to continue to get health care at Planned Parenthood, she could do so and have it paid for by her insurance plan or Medicaid.

If someone decides that she wants to change providers and get health care at a community health center, she could do so and have it paid for by her insurance plan or Medicaid.

The bill passed, 90-51.

Every Republican in the House voted against HB 1083, joined by one Democrat.

Neither party has a big tent on this and other social issues.

It would help, however, if the arguments made in this debate were factual.

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