SJC allows abortion question to proceed
The state’s highest court has granted a preliminary injunction allowing a ballot initiative petition to move forward that seeks to amend existing abortion laws to ensure babies born alive are given lifesaving medical care.
“Obviously I’m very happy that we’re going to be able to collect signatures,” said Massachusetts Newborn Protection Coalition Chairwoman Bernadette Lyons, who filed the ballot initiative and subsequent appeal.
Democratic Attorney General Maura Healey tried to put the kibosh on the question, disqualifying the initiative petition outright last week, claiming the wording to be too “ambiguous.”
On Thursday afternoon, however, the state Supreme Judicial Court directed Healey to release a summary of the initiative petition to Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin, giving signature-gatherers the green light to begin work.
Lyons said her organization has about 1,000 volunteers at the ready to start collecting signatures as soon as the petitions are ready.
The court decision does not guarantee the question will appear on 2022 ballot, but it clears a path for the initiative to continue while a legal battle over whether the AG’s disqualification was valid drags out.
“Why someone would disqualify this or say it was ‘ambiguous’ doesn’t make any sense and the reason is because the attorney general uses her office for political purposes and is a major outspoken supporter of NARAL and Planned Parenthood,” MassGOP Chairman Jim Lyons, Bernadette’s husband, told the Herald.
Petitioners must collect more than 80,200 certified signatures from Massachusetts voters by Nov. 17 to qualify the initiative for the 2022 ballot.
“Now the hard work begins, and the people behind this initiative petition are eager to get started,” Bernadette Lyons said.
Healey’s office last week certified 16 ballot proposals that could legalize voter ID, happy hour and fireworks sales, and spike the state’s participation in a controversial regional plan to cut carbon emissions, among other policies.