Pro-Life Conscience Rights and Religious Freedom Under Attack in Maryland

Recently introduced Senate Bill 169 and House Bill 372 threaten conscience rights and religious freedom in Maryland.

Behind the facade of codifying The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), these bills would turn hospital emergency rooms into abortion facilities and force healthcare professionals to participate in abortions even if doing so violates their deeply held moral or religious beliefs.

Maryland Right to Life opposes Senate Bill 169 and House Bill 372.

Healthcare professionals and faith-based hospitals should NOT be forced to perform elective abortions in violation of their deeply held moral or religious beliefs!

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Enacted in 1986, The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) was intended to prevent patients from being turned away from emergency rooms on account of their inability to pay. It contains a duty to both a pregnant woman and her unborn child. The act never mentions abortion.

Rather than codify EMTALA, Senate Bill 169 and House Bill 372 would codify an erroneous, politically-motivated interpretation of EMTALA first pushed by the Biden administration, which would force healthcare professionals and hospitals to perform abortions.

All Maryland hospitals with obstetric staff already comply with federal law and provide medically-indicated separations of mothers and unborn babies when necessary to save the life of the mother, such as cases of ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage, and other medical emergencies. This bill would require hospitals to perform elective abortions as well.

The legislation imposes severe civil penalties against hospitals and healthcare professionals who object to performing abortions, including fines of $50,000 for each violation and exclusion from participation in the Maryland Medical Assistance Program, which allows providers to seek Medicaid reimbursements for medical services rendered.

Instead of helping patients, Senate Bill 169 and House Bill 372 would put public health at risk by penalizing Maryland’s faith-based hospitals to the point of closure and driving qualified doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals out of the state or out of the medical field altogether.

Without comprehensive conscience protections, healthcare professionals who refuse to participate in abortions could be subject to harassment, demotion, salary reduction, transfer, termination, loss of staffing privileges, denial of aid or benefits, and denial of licensure or certification—exacerbating medical scarcity in Maryland.

Protecting conscience rights is critical to ensuring that qualified individuals enter and remain in the medical field, helping to meet the rising demand for quality health care in Maryland, especially for pregnant women in need of quality obstetric and prenatal care.

Protecting conscience rights enjoys broad public support from across the political spectrum.

A January 2026 survey conducted by Marist Poll found that 63% of Americans believe doctors, nurses, or other healthcare professionals who have moral or religious objections to abortion should not be legally required to perform abortions.

Even among those who self-identified as “pro-choice,” a majority (53%) expressed support for protecting rights of conscience as well as nearly half of Democrats (48%), 65% of Independents, and 81% of Republicans.

Senate Bill 169 and House Bill 372 infringe upon the free exercise of religion guaranteed to all American citizens under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

If enacted, the State would also be in violation of federal Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which states that an employer must not discriminate against an employee based on the employee’s religious beliefs. Employees cannot be subjected to harassment because of their religious beliefs or practices. Title VII requires employers to grant reasonable requests for religious accommodation unless doing so would result in undue hardship to the employer. This bill seeks to create that hardship by imposing fines.

Please contact your elected representatives in the Maryland General Assembly and urge them to vote against Senate Bill 169 and House Bill 372.

Time is of the essence! There is a Senate hearing on Senate Bill 169 scheduled for February 3, 2026 and a House hearing on House Bill 372 on February 11, 2026.

Thank you for taking swift action to defend religious freedom and conscience protections!

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