It's Friday, April 1st, 2022. I'm Albert Moeller and this is the briefing, a daily

analysis of news and events from a Christian worldview. The preservation of and

protection of the sanctity of human life is a front-line Christian concern and

Christian responsibility. Thus we have to be particularly alert when there is a big change on this front and it has

happened just over the last few days that a front has emerged in the state of Maryland.

Maryland's legislature has adopted a new abortion law that will now be sent to the governor

of that state for signature or for veto.

This new legislation effectively liberalizes Maryland's abortion law beyond just about

anything that would have been imaginable a few years ago. So for example this new law

in Maryland expands the categories of those who may perform abortions.

It's no longer going to be limited to medical doctors, it's going to be open to others as well.

But the language of the bill is most ominous in that it basically justifies abortion and

legalizes abortion all the way up until the very moment of birth and arguably

the original language contemplated for this bill would have gone even further. There's a big story there as

you imagine. Similar issues have arisen with very radical pro-abortion legislation

in states like Rhode Island, Illinois, New York, but the original language of the bill in Maryland

actually meant that no criminal action, not even a criminal investigation, would be instigated

if the fetus or the baby died during what was defined as the

perinatal period. Now here's what's really important. The perinatal period

means the period of pregnancy or the period of pregnancy and birth,

and that would go up at least until the moment of birth,

but the phrase perinatal period actually

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