Current Status - Maryland

As of April 2025, Maryland continues to expand women’s rights protections across healthcare, safety, and civic access, with new laws strengthening emergency reproductive care, perinatal mental health support, and protections for survivors of sexual assault. These updates build on an already strong legal framework supported by constitutional guarantees, longstanding statutes, and active state investment in access and enforcement.

At the same time, lawmakers have advanced a broad slate of additional proposals focused on women’s health, economic stability, and safety, though many face uncertain outcomes as the legislative session concludes on April 13.

While federal policy and funding continue to influence how programs operate in practice, Maryland’s legal and policy environment remains among the most stable and protective in the country.

Top 5 Things to Know

• New laws are improving care during pregnancy and after birth.
  Recent changes expand mental health screening, emergency care protections, and support systems for pregnant and postpartum women.
• It’s getting easier to vote in Maryland.
  Updates to registration and early voting access are designed to reduce barriers and make participation more consistent.
• Protections for survivors are getting stronger.
  New laws change how cases are handled, aiming to reduce barriers for victims of sexual assault and improve accountability.
• Colleges are expanding support for students’ health and caregiving needs
  Schools must now provide contraception access and build systems to support pregnant and parenting students.
• Strong protections exist—but access isn’t always consistent
  Even with broad legal protections, access can vary due to implementation delays, funding constraints, and reliance on federal systems that shape how programs are enforced and delivered.

Women’s health

Maryland maintains strong protections for reproductive health and women’s healthcare, reinforced by recent voter and legislative action.

Reproductive care

• Abortion remains legal in Maryland, generally up to viability. The state requires Medicaid and most private insurance to cover it, and has robust shield laws in place to protect providers. 
• In 2024, voters approved a constitutional amendment protecting reproductive freedom, strengthening long-term legal durability.
• In 2025, Maryland was the first state to create a grant program (HB 930) using existing, unspent ACA premium funds to expand abortion access to women in financial need.

New laws in 2026 further clarify access to emergency reproductive care, requiring hospitals to stabilize patients experiencing pregnancy-related complications, including when termination is medically necessary.

Healthcare access

• Medicaid expansion supports maternal, postpartum, and preventive care.
• Recent legislation expands coverage and support for perinatal mental health, requiring screening and improving referral pathways for care during pregnancy and the postpartum period.

As a regional access point for reproductive services, Maryland faces ongoing capacity pressures, including provider availability and appointment wait times.

Workplace rights

Maryland’s workplace policies support pay equity and caregiving, though implementation continues to shape how these protections function in practice.

• A pay transparency law took effect in 2024, requiring wage-range disclosure.
• The state enacted a Paid Family and Medical Leave program.
• In 2025, implementation of paid leave benefits was delayed, pushing the start of benefits to January 1, 2028.

Violence & safety

Maryland’s violence-prevention framework focuses on protecting survivors through the courts and service systems, rather than implementing sweeping statutory changes.

A new law in 2026 strengthens protections for survivors of sexual assault, including changes to law enforcement practices and court procedures aimed at reducing barriers to reporting and protecting victims’ rights.

• State law allows courts to issue civil protective orders and restrict firearm access in domestic-violence cases.
• Survivor services are supported through a combination of state and federal funding, with availability varying by county and local capacity.
• Because many programs rely on federal grant structures, funding and enforcement priorities at the national level remain an important factor in service stability.

Voting & civic participation

Maryland maintains broad access to voting, with early voting, mail-in voting, and same-day registration contributing to high participation and relatively few structural barriers.

Recent updates further improve access by making it easier for eligible voters to register after incarceration, increasing transportation access to early voting sites, and strengthening confidentiality protections for participants in the Address Confidentiality Program.

Because Maryland’s voting system is already well-established, most changes focus on improving access and administration rather than altering core rules.

Education

Maryland’s education policies generally support student access and equity, with protections that extend to health services, anti-discrimination measures, and school-based support systems.

Recent laws expand support for student health and caregiving needs, including requirements for public colleges to provide access to over-the-counter contraception and to implement plans supporting pregnant and parenting students through resources, referrals, and accommodations.

Because many education policies intersect with federal law—particularly around discrimination and student protections—federal guidance and enforcement continue to influence how these policies are applied in practice.

Related WRDI Reporting

Voters Choose Reproductive Freedom in Maryland (Dec 25)
Maryland funds abortion access expansion (Dec 25)
Maryland delays workplace benefits until 2028 (Dec 25)