The Senate hopes to wrap up its version by early July. At least four Republican senators, led by Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, have urged continuation of energy tax credits, including support for traditional and renewable energy sources. Republican-led states and Congressional districts have benefited from billions of dollars in clean energy manufacturing investments spurred by the Biden-era subsidies.
“We would need many, many more times over that to fully be able to meet the full logistic and medical support for each caller,” she said.She said the $3 million that would be made available annually under the new law could make a major difference. The fund could apply to administer a share of that money.
“The $3 million is a great start, but it will take more than that and it will take sustained funding,” she said.Maryland’s legislature is controlled by Democrats, who hold a 2-1 advantage over Republicans in voter registration statewide. Last year, Marylanda constitutional amendment with 76% support to enshrine abortion rights in the state’s constitution, in response to the 2022 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade. The court’s decision in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization gave control over abortion to the states.
“I think before the Dobbs decision, there just wasn’t quite the same type of urgency as there is now,” Lopez said. “We’ve seen abortion bans in some form or another in double digits in states across the country, so we’ve got to make sure that we shore up all the support we can in a state like Maryland that has it as a constitutionally protected right.”Twelve states currently enforce abortion bans with limited exceptions at all stages of pregnancy. Four more have bans that kick in after about six weeks, which is before many women know they’re pregnant.
The Dobb decision and an influx of people from other states seeking abortions in Maryland has made the financial need more urgent, supporters of the law say.
Maryland has been seeing an increase in patients from other states where abortion has been banned. Last year, 15% of abortions in Maryland were obtained by patients from other states, according to thefor minors in the last five years or so, even as overall drug use has dropped slightly. In a 2022 analysis of fentanyl-laced prescription pills, the
contained a potentially lethal dose of the drug.And social media, where tainted, fake prescription drugs can be obtained with just a few clicks, is a big part of the problem. Experts, law enforcement and children’s advocates say companies like Snap, TikTok, Telegram and Meta Platforms, which owns Instagram, are not doing enough to
The stories of these victims often play out similarly: The kids hear you can get pills on social media. A few taps later and then a package arrives. They retreat to the sanctity of their bedroom and take a pill. Fifteen minutes later, they’re dead. No one even knows until the next morning.Paul DelPonte, executive director and CEO of the National Crime Prevention Council, likened this crisis to a Johnson & Johnson incident in 1982 when seven people died due to