Maryland Abortion Rights: Everything You’re Entitled To

Abortion is legal in Maryland before fetal viability with no limit on how many weeks pregnant you are. After viability it remains legal when needed to protect the pregnant person’s life or health, or when the fetus has a genetic defect or serious deformity or abnormality. The rule is in Md. Code, Health-General § 20-209, and since November 2024 a right to reproductive freedom is also written into the state constitution as Article 48.

If you are under 18 and unmarried, a provider must generally notify a parent or guardian. Notice is not consent, and the statute lets the provider skip it in several situations described below.

Is Abortion Legal in Maryland, and Until When?

Maryland bars the State from interfering with the decision to end a pregnancy before viability. The statute defines “viable” as the stage when, in the qualified provider’s best clinical judgment on the facts of that case, there is a reasonable likelihood the fetus could survive outside the womb. It sets no week count, so the line is a medical judgment, not a calendar date.

The statute still says “woman.” This article uses “pregnant person,” and the protections apply to the same decision either way.

Situation	Can the State interfere?	Where it says so
Before viability, for any reason	No	§ 20-209(b)(1)
At any time, if needed to protect the person’s life or health	No	§ 20-209(b)(2)(i)
At any time, if the fetus has a genetic defect or serious deformity or abnormality	No	§ 20-209(b)(2)(ii)

Subsection (d) protects the provider too. A provider is not liable for civil damages or subject to a criminal penalty for a good-faith decision to perform an abortion, made in their best clinical judgment and under accepted clinical standards.

The Maryland Department of Health may adopt regulations in this area, but only ones that are both necessary and the least intrusive way to protect the person’s life or health, and consistent with established clinical practice.

Diagram of the three situations in which Maryland law protects abortion decisions

Article 48: The Constitutional Right Added in 2024

Maryland voters approved Question 1 on November 5, 2024, with 2,199,319 votes for and 692,219 against, or 76.06% to 23.94%, according to certified results compiled by Ballotpedia. The General Assembly had referred the amendment to voters through Chapters 244 and 245 of 2023.

The new Article 48 of the Declaration of Rights says every person has a fundamental right to reproductive freedom, including the ability to make and carry out decisions to prevent, continue, or end their own pregnancy. The State may not directly or indirectly deny, burden, or abridge that right unless it is justified by a compelling State interest achieved by the least restrictive means.

That standard changes what a future legislature can do. Before 2024, abortion access rested on ordinary statutes, including § 20-209, which lawmakers could amend by majority vote. A constitutional right can only be changed by another amendment approved by voters.

How courts will apply “compelling State interest” to specific restrictions is untested. The text sets a demanding bar, but a bill that passes the legislature is still the first place a dispute would start.

Bar graphic of the 2024 Maryland Question 1 vote, 76.06% yes and 23.94% no

Who Can Perform an Abortion in Maryland?

Abortions must be performed by a “qualified provider.” Under Health-General § 20-103(a), that means a physician, nurse practitioner, nurse-midwife, licensed certified midwife, physician assistant, or another individual licensed or certified in Maryland for whom performing an abortion is within their scope of practice.

Chapter 56 of 2022 (the Abortion Care Access Act) opened the work to providers beyond physicians. It also created the Abortion Care Clinical Training Program to build the supply of trained clinicians.

Parental Notice for Minors Under 18

Section 20-103(b) says a qualified provider may not perform an abortion on an unmarried minor unless the provider first notifies a parent or guardian. The statute requires notice only. No parent has to agree, and Maryland has no court bypass process because the provider makes the call.

Exception	What has to be true	Subsection
No contact with a parent	The minor does not live with a parent or guardian, and a reasonable effort to give notice fails	(c)
Risk of abuse	In the provider’s professional judgment, notice may lead to physical or emotional abuse	(d)(1)(i)
Mature minor	In the provider’s professional judgment, the minor is mature and capable of giving informed consent	(d)(1)(ii)
Best interest	In the provider’s professional judgment, notification would not be in the minor’s best interest	(d)(1)(iii)

The first row needs both conditions. The other three rest on the provider’s judgment, and a provider is not liable for a good-faith decision not to give notice.

When notice is given, a certified-mail receipt (return receipt requested, postmarked by the U.S. Postal Service, attached to a copy of the letter) is conclusive evidence of notice or of a reasonable effort to give it. If the minor decides not to have the abortion, the provider may not tell a parent or guardian anything about it.

Flowchart showing that unmarried minors need parental notice, not consent, in Maryland

Waiting Periods and Mandatory Counseling

The Maryland statutes covering abortion contain no waiting period and no state-scripted counseling. A proposal to add one was introduced in the 2026 session as House Bill 1281, titled “Health – Abortion – Ultrasound and Wait Time,” according to its fiscal and policy note.

Article 48 now sits behind any such proposal, so a requirement like that would have to be justified under the compelling-interest test.

Medication Abortion and Telehealth

The FDA-approved regimen uses mifepristone first, then misoprostol 24 to 48 hours later. The FDA label covers use through ten weeks of gestation. A Maryland provider can assess you by video or phone and have the medication mailed or sent to a pharmacy, so an in-person visit is not required.

This is the area with the most legal movement. On May 1, 2026, the Fifth Circuit in Louisiana v. FDA reinstated an in-person dispensing requirement nationwide. The Supreme Court stayed that order on May 14, 2026, so telehealth prescribing and mail delivery continue while the case moves through the lower courts. Justices Thomas and Alito dissented from the stay.

Separately, the FDA announced in September 2025 that it would re-review mifepristone’s safety and efficacy, which leaves the long-term federal picture open. During the few days in May when the Fifth Circuit order was in force, some providers offered a misoprostol-only protocol, a reminder that clinics can adjust quickly. Ask your provider which regimen they use. Rules for abortion pills and telehealth also differ by state, as our guide to Delaware abortion laws explains.

Insurance, Medicaid, and Help Paying

Maryland law requires coverage. Chapter 56 of 2022 requires health insurers and Maryland Medicaid to cover abortion services without a deductible, coinsurance, copayment, or other cost-sharing. Chapters 248 and 249 of 2023 require certain insurers that cover labor and delivery to cover abortion care too, with limited exceptions. Both are summarized in the Department of Legislative Services appendix on Maryland abortion law.

One 2025 program did not survive. Chapters 435 and 436 of 2025 created the Public Health Abortion Grant Program, which would have redirected unused money from ACA segregated premium accounts to help uninsured and underinsured patients. On December 9, 2025, CMS issued guidance saying that use of the funds exceeds what Section 1303 of the ACA allows, and the Acts’ own language requires them to end in that case. The Daily Record reported in October 2026 that the program never took effect.

If you are uninsured or your plan excludes abortion, the Abortion Fund of Maryland provides financial and logistical help to people living in or traveling to the state. Many clinics also work with national funds. Ask about costs and funding when you call, since clinics set their own prices. For a look at how coverage works in another state, see our guide to New Jersey abortion laws.

Emergency Care at Hospitals: Chapter 788 of 2026

A Maryland hospital with an emergency department must screen for and stabilize emergency pregnancy-related medical conditions, including by ending the pregnancy when that is medically necessary. Senate Bill 169 became Chapter 788 after Governor Wes Moore signed it on May 26, 2026, and it took effect October 1, 2026, per the General Assembly’s bill page. The Senate passed it 32-11 and the House 96-37.

A hospital may transfer a patient instead only if the transfer does not worsen the patient’s risk. The law mirrors the federal EMTALA duty, which matters because CMS rescinded its 2022 guidance on abortion as stabilizing care in 2025, leaving providers unsure how federal law applied.

The law is contested. The Maryland Catholic Conference testified that it creates legal ambiguity and conflicts with religious freedom and conscience rights for Catholic hospitals. The Maryland Department of Health testified in favor. If you are in an emergency, go to the nearest emergency department.

Shield Laws and Health Data Protections

Maryland’s 2023 shield laws limit what the State and its health systems will do for other states’ investigations. Chapters 246 and 247 of 2023 do four things:

Add protections for information about “legally protected health care” when another state seeks it.
Bar a health occupations board from disciplining a practitioner for providing that care.
Bar a medical liability insurer from taking adverse action against such a practitioner.
Bar State entities and employees from taking part in interstate investigations aimed at penalizing that care, with limited exceptions.

Chapters 248 and 249 generally prohibit a health information exchange, electronic health network, or provider from disclosing mifepristone data, or diagnosis, procedure, medication and related codes for abortion care and other sensitive services.

These laws govern Maryland agencies, boards, insurers and data systems. They do not bind another state’s legislature or courts, and the fight over telehealth pills shipped across state lines is still being litigated. The Baltimore Banner reported in 2025 that thousands of people travel to Maryland for abortions each year and that funding support is stretched thin. The state performed about 39,300 abortions in 2024, according to WYPR’s reporting.

College Students

Public senior higher education institutions had to develop a reproductive health services plan by August 1, 2024, under Education Article § 15-136 (Chapters 250 and 251 of 2023). That covers the University System of Maryland’s constituent institutions and Morgan State University, among others. Each plan must provide or refer students to a comprehensive range of reproductive health services, which includes abortion care.

Community colleges are covered by a different provision, so check your campus health center.

Finding a Provider and Avoiding Crisis Pregnancy Centers

Start with Planned Parenthood health centers, independent clinics, or a hospital-based program such as the University of Maryland’s. Directories like Abortion Finder and Plan C list verified providers, and a legitimate telehealth service will state its prices and say plainly that it provides abortions.

A crisis pregnancy center looks like a clinic but does not provide abortions and often tries to talk people out of one. If a site is vague about prices, avoids the word “abortion,” or asks you to come in to “discuss options,” keep looking.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is abortion legal in Maryland at any point during pregnancy?

Before viability, yes, for any reason. After viability, abortion is protected when it is necessary to protect the pregnant person’s life or health, or when the fetus has a genetic defect or serious deformity or abnormality (§ 20-209).

Do I need a parent’s permission if I’m under 18?

No. If you are unmarried, the provider must notify a parent or guardian, but permission is not required. A provider can skip notice in the situations listed in § 20-103(c) and (d).

Can I get abortion pills by mail in Maryland?

Yes. Telehealth prescribing and mail or pharmacy delivery of mifepristone remain available after the Supreme Court’s May 14, 2026 stay, though the underlying case is still in the lower courts.

Does Maryland Medicaid cover abortion?

Yes. Chapter 56 of 2022 requires Maryland Medicaid and health insurers to cover abortion services without cost-sharing.

Can I travel to Maryland from another state for an abortion?

Yes, and Maryland providers serve patients from other states. Maryland’s shield laws limit what Maryland agencies and systems will do for other states’ investigations, but they cannot control another state’s own laws.

What happens if I need an abortion in a hospital emergency?

Under Chapter 788 of 2026, effective October 1, 2026, an emergency department must stabilize an emergency pregnancy-related condition, including ending the pregnancy when medically necessary, or transfer you if the transfer does not increase your risk.