Public Health - Office of the Chief Medical Examiner - Perinatal Autopsies (Lung Float Test Ban)

Summary

The bill prohibits the Chief Medical Examiner, deputies, assistants, and authorized pathologists from using the hydrostatic lung test when determining if a perinatal death was a stillbirth or occurred after live birth. It lets a parent, guardian or legal representative sue for violations and adds the ban to the grounds for disciplining physicians. The Maryland Department of Health must report by Dec. 1, 2027 on the test’s usefulness, and the measure would have taken effect Oct. 1, 2026.

AI-generated summary — may be incomplete or inaccurate. Verify against the official bill text.

Hearings

• Finance — Bill Hearing
  Finance · Mar 26, 2026
• Health — Bill Hearing
  Health · Mar 4, 2026

History

1. Mar 23, 2026Referred Finance
2. Mar 23, 2026Hearing 3/26 at 1:00 p.m.
3. Mar 20, 2026Third Reading Passed
4. Mar 19, 2026Second Reading Passed with Amendments
5. Mar 19, 2026Favorable with Amendments Report by Health
6. Mar 19, 2026Favorable with Amendments {
7. Feb 11, 2026Hearing 3/04 at 1:00 p.m.
8. Feb 11, 2026First Reading Health

Sponsors

• Lopez · sponsor
• Alston
• Bagnall
• Behler
• Crutchfield
• Cullison
• D. Jones
• Feldmark
• Guzzone
• Hill
• Hutchinson
• Kaufman
• Kipke
• Lehman
• M. Morgan
• Martinez
• Palakovich Carr
• Patterson
• Reilly
• Rosenberg
• Ross
• S. Johnson
• Shetty
• Spiegel
• Szeliga

And 7 more cosponsors.

Bill text

Opens the legislature’s own copy.

Similar bills in other states

Loading the map of where bills like this one were filed.

Topics

Share