NIRH Lauds Maryland, Condemns Kentucky for Passage of Abortion Bills

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 31, 2022
Contact: Kelly Novak, [email protected]

NEW YORK – The National Institute for Reproductive Health (NIRH) commends the Maryland legislature for passing the Abortion Care Access Act, which will expand access to abortion by allowing additional qualified providers to offer care and requiring most insurance plans to cover abortion care without cost and urges Governor Hogan to sign the Act.

At the same time, NIRH decries the Kentucky legislature for passing House Bill 3, which bans abortion at 15 weeks, restricts access to medication abortion, and makes it more difficult for a minor to obtain an abortion in Kentucky. NIRH urges Governor Beshear to veto this harmful bill.

“The patchwork of abortion access in this country grows increasingly stark as we await an opinion from the Supreme Court this summer that could deliver the final blow to the minimum protections afforded by Roe v. Wade,” said Andrea Miller, president of the National Institute for Reproductive Health and NIRH Action Fund. “States – and localities – should be doing everything they can to protect and expand access to care. Maryland is a great example, and we commend their elected representatives for not only passing this bill, but for having several other bills to protect abortion introduced. Governor Hogan should sign the Abortion Care Access Act and have his pen at the ready for future bills that can fortify access to abortion care.

“On the flip side, we are disgusted to see other states like Kentucky piling on abortion restrictions,” Miller continued. “Not only do these restrictions have no basis in medical necessity or science, they disproportionately harm already-marginalized communities. Those in Kentucky and those who may look to travel there for care deserve so much better. We urge Governor Beshear to veto this dangerous bill.”

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The National Institute for Reproductive Health (NIRH) is an advocacy group that works directly with state and local reproductive health, rights, and justice organizations and allied groups to protect and advance access to reproductive healthcare. For more than 40 years, NIRH has been partnering with communities to build coalitions, launch campaigns, and successfully advocate for policy change. NIRH’s strategy is to go on the offensive and focus on communities where change is needed, so the fabric of reproductive freedom becomes harder to tear apart.