Maryland citizens fight for constitutional amendment on abortion before the DNC

CHICAGO — Maryland residents took their fight to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution to the Democratic National Convention on Monday.

State lawmakers and stakeholders joined their Illinois counterparts Monday night in a fundraiser co-hosted by Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) and Illinois Senate President Don Harmon (D).

The event, held at a catering hall in a run-down but up-and-coming neighborhood west of downtown, was expected to raise about $70,000 for Freedom in Reproduction – Maryland Inc. (FIRM), the organization pushing for the constitutional amendment that will be on the general election ballot.

“It’s about reproductive freedom, but also about freedom overall,” Ferguson said.

Ferguson said that when he was considering hosting an event at the convention to support the ballot initiative, he decided to call Harmon, whom he described as a mentor, in hopes he could offer advice on a suitable venue in the Windy City. Instead, he said, Harmon offered to co-sponsor the fundraiser.

“This is what leadership looks like when you don’t need a big push to get help,” Ferguson said.

Harmon became president of the Illinois Senate in January 2020, the same time Ferguson took office in Annapolis. He said his state, like Maryland, has been working to strengthen abortion protections since the Supreme Court sent the issue of abortion rights back to the states with the Dobbs decision in 2022.

“If I had a dollar for every reasonable, sane person who said there was no way the Supreme Court would overturn Roe v. Wade, I would get a quarter of the proceeds from Monday's fundraiser,” he said.

Illinois is considering an initiative to protect abortion rights. Harmon said the passage of the constitutional amendment in Maryland is important because he believes the Supreme Court will next rule on contraception and other reproductive health services.

“The Supreme Court is not finished yet,” he said. “These bad guys are not finished here yet.”

Also speaking at Monday's fundraiser were Maryland Planned Parenthood leaders Karen Nelson and Illinois Planned Parenthood leaders Jennifer Welch.

Welch said Illinois has become a “sanctuary” for reproductive services for 10,000 women from 40 states since the Dobbs ruling. She described how women in Wisconsin who were under sedation and about to have an abortion on the day the Supreme Court issued its ruling woke up to find they could not receive treatment that day.

“The good news is we had planned it,” Welch said. “A colleague of mine said I was a pessimist. But I knew it would happen after the former president [Donald Trump] put all those conservatives on the Supreme Court.”

Within a week, she said, Illinois Planned Parenthood opened clinics near the Wisconsin border and certified Wisconsin providers, allowing women denied reproductive services in the Dairy State to cross the border. “Wisconsin patients, Wisconsin providers, Illinois address — that's the difference.”

Welch said she was proud of the accomplishment, but also “angry” – a sentiment shared by Nelson: “I love my job, but I go home every day and I'm angry.”

Activists in Maryland believe the push for an abortion amendment will receive a huge boost from the Democratic National Convention, given the high profile of Kamala Harris as a presidential candidate and Angela Alsobrooks, Prince George's County Executive and Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, who is expected to give a high-profile speech in the convention hall later this week.

“I think Angela and this issue are going to get incredible attention, and I think that will help both campaigns,” said Sen. Jeff Waldstreicher (D-Montgomery), one of about a dozen Maryland lawmakers in attendance at Monday's event.

Ned Miller, Gov. Wes Moore's campaign manager, just took on a leadership role at FIRM and is focused on what he called Monday the “essentials” of the campaign. House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County) and Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. (D-Baltimore County) plan to co-host another fundraiser for the group in the county next month.

Harmon sought to bridge the divide between the two states' lawmakers by explaining that he and Ferguson both replaced long-serving Senate presidents. However, Harmon's predecessor had served as Senate president for 12 years, while Ferguson's predecessor, the late Sen. Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D), was Senate president for 33 years.

“For the people of Illinois, this was all kind of Madiganesque,” Harmon said – referring to former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan (D), who resigned amid scandal after holding the office for all but two years between 1983 and 2021.