Scripps News and Decision Desk HQ project Maryland will pass a measure to enshrine protection for abortion rights in the state constitution.
Maryland's Question 1 asked voters whether to add a section to Maryland's constitution that guarantees reproductive freedom, defined as including "the ability to make and effectuate decisions to prevent, continue, or end one's own pregnancy."
The measure was approved in 2023 by the state senate and signed by Gov. Wes Moore in 2023, where it awaited approval by referendum in this election. It required a simple 50% majority to pass.
In Maryland, abortion is currently legal before fetal viability and there are exceptions to extend beyond that date in cases of fetal anomaly or preserving the life or health of the mother. The last time voters decided the issue was in 1992 when they voted to uphold a Senate bill that said "the state may not interfere with the decision of a woman to terminate a pregnancy."
