Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey signed legislation Monday, August 10, removing the state's gestational limits on abortion, making Massachusetts the 10th state — alongside Washington, D.C. — to permit the procedure at any point during pregnancy. The bill was fast-tracked through the state legislature and sent to Healey's desk during the final hours of lawmakers' last scheduled formal session in July.
What the Law Changes
Previously, Massachusetts allowed abortion for any reason through the 24th week of pregnancy. After that point, the law required a physician to determine the procedure was necessary to protect the life or physical or mental health of the mother, or that the pregnancy involved a fatal fetal diagnosis or severe fetal anomaly — decisions that, under the old framework, could involve a review committee. The new law, designated H.5595, eliminates that four-part framework entirely, leaving the decision to end a pregnancy after 24 weeks to "the professional judgment of a physician," without requiring a specific medical justification. It also removes a requirement that later-term abortions take place in a hospital setting.
Why Supporters Pushed for the Change
Healey and legislative supporters said the change followed years of hearing from women and families who described being forced to leave Massachusetts, and pay thousands of dollars out of pocket, to receive care despite the state's reputation as a haven for abortion access. Reproductive Equity Now, an advocacy group that backed the bill, estimates dozens of patients leave the state annually for this reason, and has noted that abortion care after 24 weeks represents less than 1% of all terminations performed in the US.
One case frequently cited by supporters is that of Kate Dineen, an abortion rights activist whose son died in utero at 33 weeks; she was unable to receive care for her pregnancy in Massachusetts at the time and instead traveled to Maryland. Dineen has spoken publicly about her experience on multiple occasions, including as a guest of Senator Edward Markey at a State of the Union address. The law was also championed by major medical organizations, including the national Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, the Massachusetts Medical Society, and the state's chapter of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, alongside the ACLU of Massachusetts.
"We've heard so many stories, stories that are filled with a lot of pain and anguish and heartache," Healey said at Monday's signing ceremony, framing the law as part of a broader effort to protect access "no matter what Donald Trump or Republicans in Congress or the Supreme Court does."
Opposition and Criticism
Anti-abortion groups strongly condemned the law. Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, called for federal action to restrict abortion nationally in response, describing the legislation in strongly critical terms and urging Republicans to move away from a state-by-state approach to abortion policy. Massachusetts Family Institute characterized the bill as one of the most permissive in the country, saying it allows abortion "at any point in pregnancy, for any reason, outside the safeguards of a hospital." Vice President JD Vance, a longtime abortion opponent, has separately criticized states that permit later-term abortions.
A Political Backdrop
The signing comes amid Healey's own reelection campaign, in a state where abortion has become a defined dividing line among gubernatorial candidates. Democratic-aligned Healey has framed her opponents as anti-abortion; Republican candidate Mike Minogue has described himself as Catholic and "pro-life," while pledging to "uphold the law" if elected, and fellow Republican candidate Brian Shortsleeve has said he supports abortion rights, telling reporters he believes a candidate opposed to abortion access could not win a Massachusetts general election.
Abortion has remained a significant national political issue since the US Supreme Court's 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade, which ended the federal constitutional right to abortion that had existed for nearly five decades and returned abortion policy to individual states.
Where Things Stand Nationally
Massachusetts now joins nine other states and Washington, D.C., in permitting abortion without a gestational cutoff, reflecting a broader divergence in state abortion laws since the fall of Roe. States have taken sharply different approaches in the years since, ranging from near-total bans to the removal of all gestational limits, with the debate continuing to center on questions of medical judgment, fetal viability, and the appropriate role of government in reproductive healthcare decisions. For the full text of the Massachusetts law, see the official announcement from Mass.gov.
With abortion remaining a defining issue in Massachusetts' upcoming gubernatorial race and in state and national politics more broadly, this law is likely to remain a central point of contention through the November elections and beyond.