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HB885 creates a new felony in Maryland law for knowingly causing a pregnant person to ingest an abortion-inducing drug without consent, through fraud or coercion, or by force or threat of force.
OUR POSITIONThe American Council supports HB885, the Women's Freedom From Coercion Act, and urges every member of the Maryland General Assembly to vote for its passage. This bill addresses a real and serious harm: the covert or forced administration of abortion-inducing drugs to a pregnant person who has not freely chosen that outcome. No person's pregnancy should be ended by another's deception, intimidation, or violence.
The bill is precisely constructed. It defines an abortion-inducing drug as any drug, medicine, or chemical preparation for internal human consumption designed to induce an abortion, and it prohibits knowingly and willfully causing another person to ingest such a drug when one knows or believes that person is pregnant. The prohibition covers three circumstances: ingestion without consent, ingestion obtained through fraud or coercion, and ingestion caused by force or threat of force. Each of these circumstances represents a fundamental violation of a woman's bodily autonomy and her freedom to make her own reproductive decisions.
From our faith-informed conviction, the Council holds that every human life is worthy of protection, and that every woman deserves to carry a pregnancy free from manipulation and violence. Coercing or deceiving a pregnant woman into terminating a pregnancy is not a private matter; it is an act of aggression against both mother and child. Maryland law currently contains no dedicated criminal provision addressing this conduct. HB885 fills that gap by adding a new Section 3-216 to the Criminal Law Article without disturbing any existing statute.
A violation of HB885 would be classified as a felony carrying up to ten years of imprisonment. This penalty reflects the gravity of the offense. Secretly causing a woman to lose a pregnancy she intended to continue is a profound betrayal and a serious crime; the law should treat it as such. The Council believes that strong, clear criminal consequences are both just and necessary to deter this conduct.
HB885 is scheduled to take effect October 1, 2026, if passed. We call on all Marylanders who share our commitment to women's freedom and human dignity to contact their legislators today and urge a yes vote on this bill.
HB885 received its first reading in the Judiciary and Health committees on February 4, 2026, and a Judiciary Committee hearing was scheduled for February 17, 2026, placing the bill in the early committee stage of the Maryland legislative process. The bill carries a self-contained structure, adding entirely new statutory text without amending existing law, which tends to reduce technical opposition and streamline committee review; however, its referral to two committees means it must navigate more than one review process before reaching the floor. With an effective date set for October 1, 2026, the bill must complete committee action, floor votes in both chambers, and executive action within the Maryland General Assembly's 90-day session, making the weeks immediately following the February 17 hearing the most critical window for constituent contact to influence committee votes.