Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey signed legislation Monday eliminating the state’s gestational limit on abortion, making Massachusetts the 10th state with no statutory gestational limit on abortion.
The Prioritizing Patient Access to Care Act replaces the state’s prior 24-week general restriction with a standard giving physicians discretion to perform abortions later in pregnancy based on their professional medical judgment, according to Ms. Healey’s office. The law also strips away reporting and facility requirements that providers said hindered care, and takes effect in 90 days.
Ms. Healey said the change was designed to keep patients facing serious pregnancy complications from having to travel out of state for treatment.
“We believe that health care decisions should be made between women and families and their doctors, not politicians,” she said at the signing, framing the law as a shield against Republican-led efforts to curb abortion access nationally.
Massachusetts joins Alaska, Colorado, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon and Vermont, along with the District of Columbia, in having no state-imposed cutoff on the procedure.
The law drew swift condemnation from anti-abortion groups. SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser called the bill “egregious” in a statement Monday, arguing that late-term abortions typically involve dismemberment of the fetus and that the U.S. remains one of only eight countries worldwide permitting abortion at any stage of pregnancy.
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