BALTIMORE — Marylanders overwhelmingly voted in favor of enshrining access to reproductive rights, including abortion, in the state Constitution Tuesday.

According to The Associated Press, approximately 75% of Maryland voters cast their ballot in favor of Question 1, which will guarantee “every person … the fundamental right to reproductive freedom,” including the ability to “prevent, continue or end one’s own pregnancy” without interference from the state, once adopted in the Maryland Constitution.

While the word “abortion” is not explicitly stated in the language, it is an implied protection under the right to end a pregnancy.

“I just think that that’s a very personal choice and that the less barriers to access that freedom the better,” Belinda Sacco, 31, said of her vote in favor of the ballot question outside of the polling place at Gunpowder Elementary School Tuesday.

The ballot question was initially proposed by Maryland House of Delegates Speaker Adrienne A. Jones, a Baltimore County Democrat, in 2022 ahead of the U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned the precedent set by Roe v. Wade. It passed out of the House chamber that year, but stalled in the Senate.

Legislation to include the question on the 2024 presidential election ballot passed both chambers in 2023. Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, signed the legislation that May, signaling his support.

The legislature has previously made similar moves to protect reproductive rights in Maryland.

In 1991, the Maryland General Assembly approved legislation to allow abortions to be performed until a fetus reaches viability, which typically occurs at about 24 weeks. After that, patients may only receive abortion care services in the case of a fetal anomaly or to protect their health. That law was codified through a 1992 ballot referendum.

Reproductive rights have been top of mind for many voters this election cycle as the nation continues to restructure access after the overturn of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade. Vice President Kamala Harris and Maryland U.S. Senate nominee Angela Alsobrooks, both Democrats, have platformed themselves as champions of reproductive rights since early on in their respective campaigns.

“Me and my partner are child free, so the idea of not having that option in the future is problematic and scary,” Ellicott City resident Danielle Brantley, 34, said when asked why she voted for Harris.

Sharon Jacobs, 57, of Harford County, said she voted with the intention to protect women’s rights for her 16-year-old daughter.

“I want her to have options as an adult,” Jacobs said.

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