1. United States
2. Md.
3. Letter

Pass a constitutional amendment protecting abortion access nationwide — and do it now. The patchwork of state bans has created a crisis where people are being forced to travel hundreds of miles for basic healthcare, and some are being tracked, prosecuted, and harassed for doing so. This is not a theoretical threat. It is happening to real people in this country right now. A constitutional amendment is the only permanent solution. Anything short of that leaves abortion access vulnerable to the next election cycle, the next court, the next state legislature. Alongside that amendment, pass strong federal protections that explicitly prohibit prosecuting anyone for obtaining an abortion in another state and criminalize the cross-state surveillance and stalking of people seeking reproductive care. Law enforcement and private actors alike are already exploiting legal gray areas to target and intimidate people. Federal law needs to close those gaps completely. This is a matter of bodily autonomy, equal protection, and basic safety. I expect you to champion both the constitutional amendment and robust anti-prosecution, anti-stalking protections — and to make clear to your colleagues that anything less is unacceptable.