Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD) signed legislation on Tuesday requiring hospitals to provide emergency pregnancy-related care, including abortions when medically necessary.
The measure requires hospital emergency departments to screen patients for emergency pregnancy-related conditions and provide stabilizing treatments, including terminating a pregnancy if deemed necessary to protect a patient’s life or health.
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Hospitals unable to provide treatment are required to arrange a transfer, provided it does not worsen the patient’s condition. The law takes effect Oct. 1.
The bill passed largely along party lines during the 2026 legislative session, clearing the Maryland Senate in a 32-11 vote in February and the House in a 96-37 vote in April.
Democratic state Sen. Clarence Lam, one of the bill’s lead sponsors, argued the measure is necessary to preserve emergency care standards, citing what he called federal uncertainty around the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act.
EMTALA, a 1986 federal law, requires hospitals that receive Medicare funds to screen and stabilize patients experiencing medical emergencies, regardless of their ability to pay.
Under guidance issued during the Biden administration, federal officials said the law could require emergency abortions when necessary to stabilize a pregnant patient, even in states with abortion restrictions.
That guidance was later rescinded by the Trump administration, prompting concerns among abortion-rights advocates about inconsistent emergency care access.
Supporters of the Maryland legislation said the measure entices patients experiencing miscarriages, ectopic pregnancies, or other severe pregnancy complications to receive emergency treatment regardless of a hospital’s religious affiliation or concerns over shifting federal policy.
Democratic state Del. Lesley Lopez joined forces with Lam, sponsoring a House version of the bill to boost its chances of passing both chambers.
Lam first tried to pass such legislation in 2024, but the bill never made it beyond the Senate Rules Committee. He tried again last year and managed to get Senate approval, but then the bill failed in a House committee in the final days of the 2025 session.
Opponents, including anti-abortion groups and some religious organizations, argued the legislation goes beyond EMTALA and could infringe on physicians’ religious objections to abortion. Critics also contended federal law does not explicitly mandate abortion procedures and warned the state requirement could create legal conflicts.
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Moore has made protecting abortion access a priority since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, and Tuesday’s signing further cements Maryland’s status as one of the states with the most abortion protections.
The legislation is likely to be challenged in court as a violation of the First Amendment and religious freedom under the Maryland State Constitution.
