Maryland Democrats Seek to Decriminalize Infanticide

A new set of bills under consideration in the Maryland House and Senate are raising eyebrows for what they would change in the law concerning mothers who abandon their newborns to die either because they no longer want the child or are unable to care for their baby. 

Maryland Senate Bill 669 and House Bill 626, dubbed the “Pregnant Person’s Freedom Act of 2022,” not only erase women by adopting the left’s gender-confused newspeak that ludicrously assumes men can get pregnant but, as the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) explained in its analysis of the legislation, “the bill also proposes a revision of the fetal murder/manslaughter statute that would serve to handcuff the investigation of infant deaths unrelated to abortion.”

In other words – this bill will effectively legalize infanticide. The exact language of the bill states: “This section may not be construed to authorize any form of investigation or penalty for a person . . . experiencing a . . . perinatal death related to a failure to act.” (Emphasis added). In other words, a baby born alive and well could be abandoned and left to starve or freeze to death, and nothing could be done to punish those who participated in that cruel death. The bill also includes a section that would allow “a person [to] bring a cause of action for damages if the person was subject to unlawful arrest or criminal investigation for a violation of this section as a result of . . . experiencing a . . . perinatal death.

As the ACLJ — which is preparing to testify against the bill — also notes, “Because the language that is used is without clear definition, the bill could prevent any investigations into the death of infants at least seven days AFTER their birth, and may extend to infants as old as four weeks!” under the medical definition of “perinatal” that ranges from 7 to 28 days.

A state legislature’s considering a bill that could legalize infanticide up to 28 days AFTER birth. It would prevent an investigation where a living child was allowed to die between 1-4 weeks after birth.

We’re preparing new testimony against this bill. https://t.co/2xx08y0AJs

— Jay Sekulow (@JaySekulow) March 4, 2022

Following the ACLJ’s action to raise the alarm about what Maryland legislators are considering, the “perinatal” language was reportedly stripped from the Senate version of the bill — but it still remains in the House version.

Maryland, like many other states, already has a “safe haven” law that shields new mothers from civil or criminal liability if she, within 10 days of giving birth, leaves her baby “with a responsible adult.” So mothers already have a safe and not-lethal option for giving up a child if they find themselves unwilling or unable to care for their baby. 

If Democrats really wanted to expand options for mothers — in a way that wouldn’t legalize infanticide — they could extend the timeframe on Maryland’s safe haven law to 28 days or even longer. Whatever they’re trying to accomplish for “pregnant persons,” it shouldn’t require a law that would make King Herod blush.

“This bill just further exposes the complete lack of regard abortion advocates have for innocent human life,” ACLJ’s Olivia Summers emphasized.

The radical bills are set to be taken up by Maryland legislators in hearings this month, following other attempts by Maryland Democrats to expand radical pro-abortion laws in their state. As Madeline reported earlier, Maryland Democrats have also been working on an amendment to the state constitution preserving residents’ right to kill their unborn children in the event the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade.

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