8-Day Abortion Filibuster Nears End

A tentative agreement was reached Thursday to end the 8-day-old filibuster of an bill that would allow virtually unrestricted access to abortions in Maryland, the president of the state Senate said.

The agreement would place both an abortion rights and an anti-abortion proposal before voters this fall, said Senate President Mike Miller. If the Senate approves the agreement, it would still have to win approval in the House of Delegates.

At stake in the battle was a measure that would allow unrestricted access to abortions until the point in a pregnancy when a fetus is able to survive outside the womb. After fetal viability, abortions could be performed to save the life of the mother or to protect her health.

The bill would also require doctors to notify parents when unmarried teen-age daughters seek an abortion.