Legally Protected Health Care - Reproductive, Fertility Preservation, and Contraceptive Treatment and Services (IVF and Contraception Shield Act of 2025)
SB1 expands Maryland’s definition of “legally protected health care” to expressly include reproductive health services, fertility preservation, assisted reproduction, contraception, and abortion that is lawful in Maryland, as well as gender-affirming treatment. The bill also specifically names assisted reproduction treatment, standard fertility preservation procedures, gestational carrier arrangements, and contraceptive services as covered care, and it ties those definitions to existing protections in multiple areas of state law.
The measure is designed to shield patients and providers from out-of-state legal actions and professional consequences tied to care that is lawful in Maryland. It limits Maryland courts from assisting certain out-of-state subpoenas, ex parte orders, and foreign judgments involving legally protected health care unless the underlying conduct would also be a crime in Maryland or fits narrow exceptions. It also restricts the Governor’s extradition authority in related cases and bars state agencies and contractors from using state resources to help interstate investigations seeking to punish conduct that is lawful in Maryland.
SB1 amends provisions in the Courts and Judicial Proceedings, Criminal Procedure, Health Occupations, Insurance, State Personnel and Pensions, Family Law, and Health–General Articles. Its practical effect is to create a broader legal shield for providers and patients involved in reproductive care, fertility preservation, contraception, and gender-affirming treatment, while also protecting licensed practitioners from discipline based on lawful care provided in Maryland or discipline imposed elsewhere for that same care. The bill also clarifies insurance-related definitions for fertility preservation and updates state personnel law to define the scope of protected care, which may affect how state employees and agencies respond to investigations, litigation, and professional licensing matters.
Based on the bill’s title and structure, the legislation appears strongly supportive of reproductive rights and health-care access, with a focus on protecting Maryland residents and providers from out-of-state enforcement efforts. The bill text itself reflects a clear policy choice to expand legal protections rather than impose new restrictions. No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no direct evidence in the supplied materials of floor debate, amendments, or partisan division.
The main points of contention likely center on the bill’s breadth and its interstate implications. Supporters would view the measure as necessary to protect access to abortion, IVF, contraception, fertility preservation, and gender-affirming care, especially in response to laws from other states. Opponents may object to Maryland limiting cooperation with other states’ investigations, judgments, subpoenas, and extradition requests, arguing that the bill could interfere with interstate law enforcement or create conflicts of law. The bill also draws a line between conduct lawful in Maryland and conduct that would be criminal here, which is likely to be a key issue in any debate over how far the protections should extend.