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Committee hears victims and advocates supporting bill to criminalize forced ingestion of abortion drugs
Summary
Supporters of HB 11-86, the "Women's Freedom from Coercion Act," told the House Judiciary Committee the bill would make it a crime to knowingly force or trick a pregnant person to ingest abortion-inducing medication; multiple witnesses described incidents and called for criminal penalties and survivor remedies.
Delegate April Miller presented House Bill 11-86 to the House Judiciary Committee, saying the bill “prohibits a person from knowingly and willfully causing another person to ingest without their consent an abortion inducing drug through fraud, coercion, or threat of force when the person knows or believes the other person is pregnant.”
Why it matters: Witnesses described incidents from other states and personal accounts they said illustrate how readily accessible medication abortion drugs can be misused to coerce or harm pregnant people. Supporters asked the committee to create a specific offense and criminal penalties, and some witnesses urged a sentence lower than the bill’s original 25-year maximum.
Testimony and examples: Tiffany Sianci, who described herself as a Frederick County resident and small-business owner, testified about her arbitration and litigation experience and said aggressive legal tactics pressured her to schedule an abortion she did not want. “Coercion takes many forms and no one … should ever be forced into this decision,” she said. Deborah Bercato, a retired nurse and pregnancy center volunteer, described medical risks if misoprostol or other pills are administered without medical supervision and called the practice “a very sinister and violent crime against a woman.” Jonathan Alexander, legislative counsel for the Maryland Family Institute, summarized reported incidents in several states and said policymakers should criminalize nonconsensual administration of abortion drugs.
Committee questions and scope: Committee members asked how out-of-state attorneys and arbitration clauses could be used to coerce Maryland residents and whether existing state remedies covered the conduct. Witnesses said arbitration confidentiality and federal arbitration rules can limit cross-jurisdictional enforcement and that some states, including Arizona, have criminal statutes addressing similar conduct. Several panelists noted survivors and whistleblowers have contacted them and urged Maryland to enact a specific statutory offense to provide victims legal recourse in the state.
Outcome: The committee took testimony; no committee vote was recorded during the hearing.
