Maryland Democrats push bill allowing condom vending machines in schools from kindergarten through high school, sparking outrage from parents and Republican lawmakers.
No, this isn’t a Babylon Bee story. This is actually happening.
At a Glance
- House Bill 380 passed Maryland’s House of Delegates with an 89-41 vote, removing penalties for contraceptive vending machines in all public schools
- The bill repeals existing prohibitions that included a $1,000 fine for selling contraceptives via vending machines in schools
- Republican Del. Kathy Szeliga led opposition, calling it “Condoms for Kiddies” and unsuccessfully attempted to limit machines to high schools only
- Supporters claim the bill doesn’t mandate installations but removes criminal barriers to reproductive health resources
- The legislation now advances to the Senate for consideration
Democratic Lawmakers Remove Barriers to Contraceptives in Schools
Maryland’s House of Delegates recently approved legislation that would allow contraceptive vending machines in all public schools, including elementary and nursery schools. House Bill 380, sponsored by Prince George’s County Democratic Delegate Nicole Williams, passed with an 89-to-41 vote, largely along party lines. The controversial measure repeals existing prohibitions against selling contraceptives through vending machines in educational settings, eliminating the current $1,000 penalty for violations.
“This bill repeals the misdemeanor prohibition against and associated penalty for selling or offering for sale a contraceptive or contraceptive device by means of a vending machine or other automatic device at a kindergarten, nursery school, elementary school, or secondary school,” states the Maryland General Assembly’s website.
The bill’s supporters emphasize that the legislation doesn’t actually mandate installing contraceptive vending machines but rather removes criminal penalties that they claim create unnecessary barriers to reproductive health resources.
But, isn’t that just as bad?
The decision to install such machines would ultimately fall to local school boards and individual school systems, should the bill become law after Senate consideration.
Condom vending machines for your kindergartner at school? Maryland legislators have lost their minds! Do the Democrats not realize there are people who are struggling to pay for their groceries? https://t.co/2xuqriTaXj
— Laurie Halverson (@HalversonLaurie) February 22, 2025
Republican Opposition Expresses Outrage
The proposal has generated significant backlash from Republican lawmakers and parental rights advocates. Leading the opposition, Baltimore County Republican Delegate Kathy Szeliga has voiced strong concerns about the appropriateness of making contraceptives available in schools with young children. Szeliga and fellow Republicans attempted to amend the bill to limit contraceptive vending machines to high schools only, but their efforts were unsuccessful.
“MD lawmakers have officially lost their minds. Condom vending machines in SCHOOLS—from preschools to high schools? Yes, you read that right,” Delegate Kathy Szeliga said.
Szeliga further expressed her outrage on social media, dubbing the legislation the “Condoms for Kiddies” bill.
“Thanks to HB 380, the ‘Condoms for Kiddies’ bill, your child’s school could soon be a one-stop shop for birth control. What’s next, hormone therapy at recess? This is what happens when the people in charge put ideology over common sense,” she wrote.
It's really good to know that democrats got the culture messages from the last election and course corrected. https://t.co/xC9PN96heV
— Andrew Wilkow (@WilkowMajority) February 22, 2025
Democrats have learned nothing so far, have they? If they continue down this route, they’ll be completely removed as any kind of political force in this country for a generation or more.
And that’s probably a good thing.
