Montgomery County Council reaffirms commitment to reproductive health care

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. — The Montgomery County Council reconvened in Rockville Tuesday after a monthlong recess. At the top on their agenda was a resolution solidifying the county’s commitment to protect reproductive rights, and find ways to enhance access to reproductive health services, such as abortion.

Advocates stood outside the Council Office Building in support of the resolution.

“We are proud to stand with Maryland and Montgomery County in making sure that patients are safe here,” said Alice Wilkerson, executive director of Advance Maryland.

The resolution also supports a state constitutional amendment to protect reproductive freedoms, but some claim its language opens the door to other outcomes.

“If you read the language in it, it’s very vague,” says Stacey Sauter of the Montgomery County Republican Party. “We consider it a Trojan horse, and it would allow minors to transition….without their parents’ knowledge or consent.”

After the Council passed the resolution, county leaders heard from health care workers and advocates about the importance of abortion access.

The county’s Department of Health and Human Services Chief, Dr. Nina Ashford, also discussed a program to ensure abortion access since the Dobbs decision was overturned in 2022. The judgment led to dozens of states restricting access to abortion at varying levels. Since then, Maryland passed numerous laws ensuring access to abortion care, as well as laws protecting providers who provide care to people who live outside the state.

Dr. Ashford highlighted that the services Montgomery County provides not only benefit folks living within the county, but around the country.

"Forty-eight percent of those individuals who receive these services came from a county or state where they had trouble accessing abortion services within their own community,” she said. “Montgomery County is one of the few bastions left, especially when we have West Virginia and Pennsylvania, our neighboring states that have restrictive access, or abortion bans, that we are not just here providing services for our residents, we’re a beacon of hope and light for individuals across the country."