How Massachusetts Lawmakers Voted on Controversial Abortion Law

The new Massachusetts abortion law continues to drive headlines for what some call its "barbaric" relaxation of restrictions on late-term abortions, but not all Commonwealth lawmakers who voted for the law did so on the record.

The legislation titled "An Act Prioritizing Patient Access to Care" received final approval from the House on July 31, 2026. Representatives passed the measure with a roll call vote of 121 to 35. That means each member in attendance went on the record, stating their support or opposition to the bill.

House Roll Call Reveals Sharp Division and Key Abstentions

Four members – Marjorie Decker, John Rogers, Chynah Tyler, and Andres Varga, all Democrats – did not vote.

Massachusetts Senators Left No Record Of Their Votes On Abortion Law — Barry Richard/Townsquare Media

It was previously reported that Fall River Democrat Carole Fiola didn't participate in the final vote, but in fact she did, voting in favor of the bill. Fiola was absent for a preliminary vote on July 22, 2026.

Democrats Alan Sylvia of Fall River, Chris Markey of Dartmouth, and Lisa Field of Taunton joined all of the Republicans in voting against the bill.

SouthCoast Democrats Tony Cabral, Chris Hendricks, Steven Oullette, and Mark Sylvia voted in favor.

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Senate Voice Vote Leaves Local Positions Off the Record

The Massachusetts Senate also passed the abortion bill on July 31, 2026, but did so by voice vote (reported as a 15-4 standing tally), leaving no record of how individual senators voted. No record exists of how Senators Mark Montigny of New Bedford or Michael Rodrigues of Westport voted on the abortion bill.

Governor Healey Signs Legislation Following 10-Day Sprint

The entire process took less than 10 days.

Governor Maura Healey signed the abortion bill into law on August 10, 2026, telling WBSM that without the law, a 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?"

LOOK: Milestones in women's history from the year you were born

Women have left marks on everything from entertainment and music to space exploration, athletics, and technology. Each passing year and new milestone makes it clear both how recent this history-making is in relation to the rest of the country, as well as how far we still need to go. The resulting timeline shows that women are constantly making history worthy of best-selling biographies and classroom textbooks; someone just needs to write about them.

Scroll through to find out when women in the U.S. and around the world won rights, the names of women who shattered the glass ceiling, and which country's women banded together to end a civil war.

Gallery Credit: Isabel Sepulveda