State Roundup: Pro-Roe Marylanders prepare for onslaught of women seeking abortions; LGBTQ+ people alert to possible curbing of their rights

State Roundup: Pro-Roe Marylanders prepare for onslaught of women seeking abortions; LGBTQ+ people alert to possible curbing of their rights

WASHINGTON - Abortion rights advocates demonstrated in front of the Supreme Court Tuesday after a leaked draft of a decision indicated a majority of justices are ready to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that legalized abortion. (Chris Barylick/Capital News Service)

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ABORTION RIGHTS ACTIVISTS IN MARYLAND PREPARE: The Supreme Court upended a half century of precedent when it overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that made abortion a constitutional right, shifting the onus to states such as Maryland to decide whether such services are legal. Meredith Cohn, Hannah Gaskill, Christine Condon and Jeff Barker/The Baltimore Sun.

  • Abortion rights activists in Maryland have been planning for this moment for years, creating a network of volunteers, donors and abortion providers to help an expected onslaught of women traveling here to terminate a pregnancy. As one of 13 states with strong laws that protect the right to an abortion, Maryland will play a key role for those in other states looking to end a pregnancy. Julie Scharper/The Baltimore Banner.
  • Diane Horvath leaned across the table to read the latest list off her phone: operating room lights, waiting room furniture and a storage closet. An abortion clinic closing in Georgia offered to sell all of it, cheap. Horvath, a physician, and Morgan Nuzzo, a certified nurse-midwife, are scrambling to amass secondhand medical equipment, raise money, hire staff and complete renovations in preparation to open a clinic in College Park. Jenna Portnoy/The Washington Post.
  • As one of 13 states where abortion access is protected, Maryland will play a key role in the post-Roe era. There are ways to help. Julie Scharper/The Baltimore Banner.

PUBLIC REACTION: After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, hundreds flooded the streets of Baltimore to protest the decision. “It’s hard to put what I feel into words that are cohesive,” said Israel. “It seems like everything is collapsing and there really seems like there’s no way out.” Gabe Dinsmoor and Emma Patti Harris/The Baltimore Banner.

POLS REACTION TO ROE DECISION: The Supreme Court decision Friday to strike down Roe v. Wade, the historic 1973 decision guaranteeing abortion rights across the country, may be reordering Maryland politics just 3 1/2 weeks before the state’s primaries. “It’s going to be a different world,” Del. Ariana Kelly (D-Montgomery), a leading abortion rights advocate in the General Assembly, said in an interview Friday. “Yesterday and tomorrow, totally different worlds.” Josh Kurtz/Maryland Matters.

  • As abortion rights voters mourned the U.S. Supreme Court decision Friday striking down Roe v. Wade, Maryland House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones renewed her vow to protect access to abortion care statewide. Hannah Gaskill and Sam Janesch/The Baltimore Sun.
  • Maryland is likely to become something of a sanctuary state for women seeking to terminate pregnancies, said Del. Ariana B. Kelly, D-Montgomery County. Kelly helped pass a law this year that broadened the types of medical practitioners who can provide abortions to include nurse practitioners, certified midwives and physicians assistants. Madeleine O’Neill/The Daily Record.
  • Politicians and other public officials weigh in on the overturning of Roe. Julie Scharper/The Baltimore Banner.

OPINION: IT’S NOT ABOUT THE CHILDREN: You can’t believe that lives are sacred in the womb but don’t deserve health care while in the hospital with their families after birth. You can’t consider that womb a sacred vessel and deny the person whose body it is the services they might need to care for their child. If you did, you’d believe in universal healthcare. In not gutting government benefits of their parents. In raising the minimum wage. In affordable housing. In safe schools. Leslie Gray Streeter/The Baltimore Banner.

LGBTQ+ PEOPLE ON ALERT: Dozens of people attended the Baltimore Pride Parade Saturday, marking a joyous reunion for the queer community after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While attendees danced and cheered as the parade marched by, some expressed concern over the future of gay rights given recent opinions from the Supreme Court. Ngan Ho/The Baltimore Sun.

  • As Kelly Cross watched the events unfold from his home in Old Goucher, he said he felt “great unease,” explaining that his husband, Mateusz Rozanski, who is originally from Poland, was in danger of being deported prior to the federal government’s recognition of same-sex marriage. “I’m not only in a same-sex relationship, but I’m here in a same-sex relationship because the Supreme Court overturned the Defense of Marriage Act,” Cross said. “That’s why our marriage is valid.”  /The Baltimore Banner.
  • “They’re coming for us – no question,” the 26-year-old Mount Vernon resident said. “Look at what happened right here with those fires.” James was referring to the early morning fire last week in Baltimore’s Abell neighborhood that damaged four homes and sent three people to the hospital. The incident, which also involved the burning of a Pride flag across the street from the burned houses and other fires in the area that night, remains under investigation by federal officials as a potential hate crime. Fern Shen/Baltimore Brew.

MARYLAND MAY HAVE TO ALTER GUN CARRY LAW: The Supreme Court’s ruling Thursday that Americans have a right to carry a handgun outside the home for self-defense — striking down a New York law that made it illegal to carry a gun in public without proving there was a special need for protection — could mean Maryland will have to change its own similar law. Karina Elwood/The Washington Post.

SUN EDITORIAL: PEREZ FOR GOVERNOR: Tom Perez, the former Montgomery County councilmember, Harvard-trained civil rights lawyer, state and federal labor secretary and Democratic National Committee chairman, is by far the most qualified and battle-tested of the candidates for the state’s 63rd governor. Editorial Board/The Baltimore Sun.

WES MOORE, PROFILE OF A CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR: Wes Moore has built up a diverse resume over his career, serving in the military, as an investment banker, a best-selling author, an entrepreneur and the chief of a large charity. All of those stops along the way have prepared him, he says, for what he hopes is his next title: governor of Maryland. Pamela Wood/The Baltimore Banner.

VOTERS CONCERNED ABOUT INFLATION, GAS COST: They’ve outlined lofty visions for increased wages and tens of thousands of new jobs. They’ve talked about investments in transportation, education and small businesses. But among all the policy plans and stump speeches from Maryland’s candidates for governor, the most pressing economic concerns of voters this year are seldom mentioned. Sam Janesch/The Baltimore Sun.

CURRAN-O’MALLEY AD QUESTIONS BROWN’s QUALIFICATIONS: The Maryland race for attorney general already had a contentious Democratic primary, but it entered a new phase this past week as former judge Katie Curran O’Malley released the first negative television primary ad of the year. Erin Cox/The Washington Post.

MD DEMS MAKE PITCH FOR EARLIER PRIMARY: Maryland Democratic Party officials made their pitch to the national party this week to become one of the first states to kick off the 2024 presidential nominating process, competing against Iowa, New Hampshire and more than a dozen other states as the Democratic National Committee considers reshuffling its contest order. Ovetta Wiggins/The Washington Post.

  • Playing up Maryland’s status as “America in miniature,” and its robust racial and ethnic diversity, state Democratic Chair Yvette Lewis made an energetic pitch to the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee, which held an all-day meeting downtown. “Maryland is the most diverse state on the east coast,” Lewis said. “In a party that boasts its inclusivity as the big tent party, our state is the most symbolic of that.” Bruce DePuyt/Maryland Matters.

STATE LIFTS COLLEGE DEGREE REQUIREMENT FOR MANY POSITIONS: With record numbers of state jobs going unfilled since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Maryland was in a bind. So, officials decided to eliminate the four-year degree requirement for thousands of those jobs—from parole agents to information technology specialists to nursing assistants—becoming the first state to do so. In the current tight labor market, Maryland is not the only state engaged in a desperate search for government employees. Elaine Povich of Stateline/Maryland Matters.

HIGH COURT GIVES OK TO POLICE WHO SNIFF TO STOP: A sharply divided Maryland high court ruled this week that police officers may briefly stop and question a person who smells of marijuana though possession of less than 10 grams of the drug is not a crime in the state. Steve Lash/The Daily Record.

PG EXEC FORUM FOCUSES ON EDUCATION, PUBLIC SAFETY: Four of the five candidates running for Prince George’s County executive summarized their platforms on education, public safety and other topics at a forum Tuesday at Prince George’s Community College in Largo. County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, Tonya Sweat, Sherman Hardy, Leigh Bodden and Billy Bridges are all registered Democrats. William Ford/The Washington Informer.

WASHINGTON COUNTY STILL DOWN 100 ELECTION JUDGES: With early voting nearly two weeks away, the Washington County Board of Elections still faces an election judge shortage. Previously, the county board of elections was 188 election judges short in order to run, comfortably, about 49 election sites. Barry Jackson, deputy director of the county elections board, told The Herald-Mail in a telephone interview the board remains 100 election judges short of the number sought. “We’re moving in the right direction, but … we still do need people,” Jackson said. Michael Garcia/The Hagerstown Herald-Mail.

OPINION: VOTERS SHOULD BE AWARE: Anne Arundel County Council Candidate Dawn Pulliam used confidential data from the GOP Data Center in a recent mailer attacking her competitors. The mailer attacks Republican primary opponents Shannon Leadbetter and Cailey Locklair on their voting records. Brian Griffiths/The Duckpin.

A MARYLAND ELECTION JUDGE’s UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE: When Ukrainians went to the polls in 2019 and elected President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a Maryland election judge was there to observe the democratic process play out. Todd Becker of Salisbury has observed foreign elections for decades with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, giving him a unique perspective on the state of elections now under fire for everything from unfounded claims of fraud to pandemic-related changes. Dwight Weingarten/The Salisbury Daily Times.

TOM GRAHAM, FORMER EXEC EDITOR OF PPC, DIES: Thomas M. “Tom” Graham, former executive editor of Patuxent Publishing Corp.’s newspaper, died Wednesday on his 48th wedding anniversary from complications of cancer at his Columbia home. He was 71. Jean F. Moon, former editor of The Columbia Flier, said, “We all regarded him as an editor who had the capacity to generate affection for the people who worked for him. He was a beloved editor, not a sentimental man, but a man who earned respect.” Fred Rasmussen/The Baltimore Sun.

About The Author

Cynthia Prairie

cynthiaprairie@gmail.com
https://www.chestertelegraph.org/

Contributing Editor Cynthia Prairie has been a newspaper editor since 1979, when she began working at The Raleigh Times. Since then, she has worked for The Baltimore News American, The Chicago Sun-Times, The Prince George’s Journal and Baltimore County newspapers in the Patuxent Publishing chain, including overseeing The Jeffersonian when it was a two-day a week business publication. Cynthia has won numerous state awards, including the Maryland State Bar Association’s Gavel Award. Besides compiling and editing the daily State Roundup, she runs her own online newspaper, The Chester Telegraph. If you have additional questions or comments contact Cynthia at: cynthiaprairie@gmail.com

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