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Maryland

The diminutive state of Maryland, in the eastern United States, has a population of 5.6 million in 2007. In that year, 36,618 marriages were performed (31,727 residents) and 16,631 divorces and 31 annulments were granted. In 2007, women constituted about 49 percent of the private sector workforce, but earned an average of $31,392 as opposed to $42,509 for men, and were more likely to live in poverty (9 percent for women versus 6 percent for men). In 2008, 64 percent of women in Maryland were in the civilian labor force.

Extreme Abortion Laws in Maryland

On February 18, 1991, Maryland Governor William Donald Schaefer signed into law SB 162, an abortion bill that went far beyond Roe v. Wade. Prolife proponents mounted an all-out effort to repeal the law by referendum, but the referendum failed, leaving Maryland with one of the most extreme abortion statutes in the United States. Since 1992, Maryland law has permitted abortion on demand, even late in pregnancy, protected abortionists from legal action, allowed abortionists to perform abortions on minors without notifying a parent, and left health care workers who refuse to make abortion referrals as a matter of conscience vulnerable to civil liability and disciplinary action.

Maryland's abortion law is recognized as one of the most permissive in the country by NARAL Pro-Choice America, formerly known as the National Abortion Rights Action League. In its evaluation of state abortion laws, NARAL gives Maryland a grade of “A,” the same grade it gives to Connecticut and Vermont. Only California and Washington State have a higher score of “A+.” By comparison, the District of Columbia rates a B-, Delaware rates a “C,” and Pennsylvania and Virginia both rate a grade of “F” (meaning that they are much more pro-life). Maryland is the only state where an abortion provider may act with impunity while health care workers are vulnerable to job discrimination, lawsuits, poor peer reviews, and disciplinary action for refusing to perform or facilitate abortions.

In Maryland, 57 percent of all pregnancies in 2005 resulted in live births and 29 percent in induced abortions, a rate of 31.5 abortions per 1,000 women of reproductive age. Some of these women were from other states, and some Maryland residents had abortions in other states, so this rate may not reflect the actual abortion rate of state residents. The rate increased 8 percent since 2000, rising from 29 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44. Abortions in Maryland represent 3.1 of all abortions in the United States.

Adoption in Maryland

Maryland statutes establish two kinds of adoptions in the state: agency and independent. An agency adoption is an adoption arranged by a child placement agency, including a local department of social services. An independent adoption, commonly known as private adoption, is an arrangement that is made directly between the birth parents and the adopting parents, independent of a child placement agency.

Independent adoption includes the adoption by a stepparent of a child born to the stepparent's spouse from another relationship. Statistical information about adoption in Maryland is filed, so is not possible to ascertain the types or number of adoptions finalized each year. From 1998 to 1999, 240 adoption cases were filed, including Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) petitions to terminate birth parent parental rights.

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