This video is from the Montgomery County Democrat Central Committee Ballot Questions Advisory Committee (BQAC) hearing on August 28, 2024, and includes the testimony of a woman who understands that children should not be able to undergo elective gender surgery without the approval of their parents, funded by the State.
Most people believe that minors should not have the right to gender reassignment surgery without the approval of their parents. However, Ballot Question 1 - The Reproductive Freedom Amendment, gives minors the right alter their reproductive organs without their parents’ consent and with public funding. Sen. Justin Ready asked if the bill can be changed to include carve-outs for minors, and was refused.
A clarification to this amendment must be added to ensure that parents have a say in the actions of their children.
Vote NO on QUESTION - 1
The amendment is not simply an abortion amendment. If it were, the word abortion
would be in the amendment. Reproductive freedom is not defined in the amendment,
nor anywhere in Maryland law. It is an ambiguous term. The first words of the amendment are
that every person. It doesn't say every adult person or every person over the age of 18.
Efforts to include minimum age requirements and parental consent requirements were rejected.
Any current laws that address parental consent will be superseded by this amendment. The
amendment covers a new right called reproductive freedom that will apply to all individuals,
regardless of age. Minor children will be able to obtain drugs and surgeries that pertain to
their reproductive system and their anatomy without their parents' guidance. Pro-choice
Marylanders should not have to sacrifice parental rights for a badly written amendment when abortion
is already unrestricted and fully funded by Maryland law. People can be pro-choice and
pro-parents. Don't throw parental rights out the window. You should recommend that we vote no
on question one. Thank you.
