Abortion care access in Maryland supported by $15.6M in investments

BALTIMORE -- Maryland Gov. Wes Moore on Monday announced $15.6 million in investments to shore up the state's abortion care access. 

The Maryland Department of Health allocated most of the money with a $10.6 million grant to the University of Maryland, Baltimore for the state's Abortion Care Clinical Training Program. 

The program's new funding would expand the number of healthcare professionals with abortion care training, increase diversity in the field, and support the identification of clinical sites to offer training, officials said. 

In addition, the Moore-Miller administration set aside $5 million to increase Medicaid provider reimbursement for abortion care and reproductive services, the governor's office said. 

The $5 million investment will support the Maryland Medicaid Family Planning and Reproductive Health Program through grants to individual family planning service providers. 

"Access to reproductive health care is a fundamental right," Moore said in a statement. "Today, we take another big step forward to protect the health, well-being, and rights of Marylanders – and we will keep working together to ensure that Maryland remains a safe haven for reproductive care."

Moore pledged last year Maryland would "lead the way" in reproductive rights as states clamped down on abortion protections following the reversal of Roe V. Wade in 2022.