Beacon Hill move expands abortion access

A bill expanding abortion access in Massachusetts will become law despite a veto by Gov. Charlie Baker after both chambers of the state Legislature passed overrides this week.

State Senators on Tuesday voted 32-8 to reaffirm its support for the measure one day after the House scraped out a narrow two-thirds majority in a 107-46 vote.

The legislation will enshrine abortion rights in state law, lower the age allowed without telling the parents to 16 and allow abortions after 24 weeks of pregnancy in cases with a fatal fetal anomaly.

Anti-abortion activists lambasted the move saying lawmakers “ignored the governor’s commonsense rejection.”

“Almost as disheartening as this new law is the fact that legislators rammed this damaging bill through during Covid, inserting it into the state budget, knowing our opposition could not fight it in person due to quarantine restrictions,” said Myrna Maloney Flynn, president of Massachusetts Citizens for Life.

But the decision was applauded by abortionrights activists who lobbied for passage of the bill following the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the confirmation of anti-abortion Justice Amy Coney Barrett, which casts doubt on the precedent set by Roe v. Wade.

“The passage of these reforms to improve abortion access is a historic milestone for reproductive freedom in Massachusetts. Today, the Commonwealth reestablished itself as a national leader in health care by removing political barriers to abortion and becoming the first state to legislatively ease burdensome restrictions on young people’s access to care.