'Maryland is going to be a safe haven for abortion rights,' governor says at education event
Gov. Moore’s partnership with the University of Maryland Medical System, which includes access to the abortion pill mifepristone, was announced on April 17.
The event largely focused on the move by political leaders to advance technical education as a way to close skills gaps and de-stigmatize technical careers.
“Maryland is going to be a safe haven for abortion rights,” Maryland Governor Wes Moore said at Axios’ Wednesday event, “Skills over Status: The Shift Toward Skills-Based Hiring.”
Other panelists at the DC event included Rep. Dr. Virginia Foxx, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, and Senior Vice President and General Counsel of LinkedIn Blake Lawit.
The event largely focused on the move by political leaders to advance technical education as a way to close skills gaps and de-stigmatize technical careers, as previously reported.
Mike Allen, Axios’ Co-founder, asked Governor Moore about his announcement to partner with the state’s university medical system to purchase a “substantial amount of abortion pills.”
“I know that Maryland is going to lead, I know that we have the tools to be able to make sure that regardless of what decision the Supreme Court is going to make on this issue that in the state of Maryland, we are going to make sure that the state of Maryland is a safe haven for abortion rights. Full stop,” the Governor stated.
Moore’s partnership with the University of Maryland Medical System, which includes access to the abortion pill mifepristone, was announced on April 17.
“The partnership for the purchase of mifepristone is another effort by the Moore-Miller administration to protect reproductive rights in Maryland, a top priority for the administration. Gov. Moore also released $3.5 million in previously withheld funding for the Abortion Care Clinical Training Program, established in 2022 by the Abortion Care Access Act,” the announcement reads.
Campus Reform contacted the governor’s office for clarity on how protecting abortion rights aligned with Moore’s larger education goals in the state, but his office declined to comment.
Using university systems to provide access to abortion or abortion-related services is not unique to Maryland.
In February, Campus Reform reported that a California bill requires public colleges and universities to provide abortion pills to students.
[RELATED: Student paper erects Planned Parenthood advertisements on campus]
The bill, “SB-24,” which took effect in January, states that “each student health care services clinic on a California State University or University of California campus [must] offer abortion by medication techniques.”
The Supreme Court is expected to hear the case regarding mifepristone. The pill has been a focus for conservatives who wish to protect the life of the unborn. Federal judges have made conflicting rulings concerning the pill’s use across the country, resulting in the need for the Supreme Court to make an official ruling.
But Governor Moore says he will ignore potential Supreme Court rulings, repeating “Maryland will be a safe haven for abortion rights.”
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