Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 19, 1991 TAG: 9102190255
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: ANNAPOLIS, MD. LENGTH: Medium
The Maryland House sent the measure to the governor on a vote of 84-52, ending a round of intense lobbying and a yearlong battle.
"I think the House and Senate acted wisely," Schaefer said. "They voted their conscience."
Abortion rights advocates hailed the law as a major victory. Abortion foes vowed to launch a petition drive to allow voters to reject the law.
A proposed anti-abortion "conscience amendment" to bar lawsuits against people who refuse to refer patients for an abortion was rejected by the House on a vote of 61-73.
The law already contained a provision barring such suits. It also includes a parental notification provision, but one that doctors may opt to ignore.
The Senate approved the bill Feb. 11 by a vote of 29-18.
"By securing a woman's right to choose, the Maryland Legislature is taking a necessary and vital step toward safeguarding the health and lives of Maryland woman," said Kate Michelman, director of the National Abortion Rights Action League.
In the hours leading up to the House session, lobbyists for the Roman Catholic Church and other anti-abortion groups sought support for the amendment, which would have sent the measure back to the Senate.
"It will become the most liberal, the most extreme, abortion law in the entire 50 states," said Democratic Delegate Timothy Maloney, an anti-abortion leader. "Maryland will stand alone as being the most unregulated state in the nation regarding abortion."
The bill was at the center of a yearlong legislative fight over attempts by abortion-rights legislators to write into Maryland law key elements of the 1973 Roe-vs.-Wade decision, which legalized abortion nationwide for the first time. The bill was launched in response to indications the high court might reverse the Roe ruling.
Both houses of the Legislature are heavily dominated by Democrats and have tended to favor abortion rights in recent years. Last year, an abortion-rights bill was killed by a filibuster in the Senate.
The abortion-rights bill grants adult women unrestricted access to abortions up to the time when a fetus is able to survive outside the womb. After that, abortions could be performed only to protect a woman's health or in cases where the fetus is deformed.
The measure also includes what both sides agree is a weak parental-notification clause. It requires that at least one parent must be notified when an underage girl seeks an abortion. Doctors would be allowed to ignore the requirement if they deemed it to be in the best interests of the girl.
by CNB