Gov. Healey Defends New Massachusetts Abortion Expansion

Governor Maura Healey said she will sign legislation into law that vastly expands access to abortion. H.5595, the Prioritizing Patients' Access to Care Act, passed the House on July 22, 2026, and the Senate by the deadline on July 31, 2026, and now sits on Healey's desk awaiting her signature.

"What the bill does is make sure that women don't have to travel out of state for needed medical care," Healey told me while visiting New Bedford's Feast of the Blessed Sacrament on Saturday.

What Massachusetts Bill H.5595 Changes for Abortion Access

EWTN News' Daniel Payne wrote that Massachusetts lawmakers "moved to strip all restrictions from abortion and allow the procedure up until birth so long as a doctor approves of it."

"The legislation removes all of the state's current restrictions on abortion after 24 weeks, instead dictating that a late-term abortion may be done based upon 'the professional judgment of the physician performing it,'" Payne wrote.

Fox News Digital reported the bill "marks the latest effort by Democratic-led states to expand abortion protections after the Supreme Court's 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision returned abortion policy to the states."

Healey sees it as a life-saving measure.

Gov. Healey Speaks Out on Emergency Medical Care Rules

"I know this is a hard subject, but I'm really clear on this one," she said. "Under the current law in Massachusetts, you know, you could be in your 33rd week. This is a true story. A woman in her 33rd week of pregnancy, her baby in utero has a catastrophic stroke, you know?"

Healey said the woman's only alternative was to "go outside Massachusetts, travel several hundred miles, spend thousands of dollars for care that could otherwise be available here with the direction and at the recommendation of a doctor, right?"

"It's always got to be with the recommendation of a doctor," Healey said.

Opponents and Pro-Life Groups Respond to Mass. Healthcare Bill

According to Fox, supporters say the bill removes barriers to "medically necessary care," but opponents contend the bill makes Massachusetts "one of the nation's least restrictive states for abortions later in pregnancy."

"I'm glad that by signing this bill, couples won't have to travel outside of state and spend thousands of dollars to get the healthcare that they and their doctor think they need," she said. "It helps families deal with something that's really tragic."

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America (SBA Pro-Life America) said the bill "makes performing an abortion throughout the second and third trimesters legal."

SBA Pro-Life America, which calls the bill "extreme," said, "Massachusetts already allows abortion in the first 24 weeks, but that isn't enough for Democrats whose party holds the position on no limits on abortion whatsoever."