Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey signed sweeping legislation on Monday, August 10, that strips away the state’s longstanding 24-week restriction on abortion, granting physicians full discretion to provide the procedure later in pregnancy based on their professional medical judgment. The new law, known as the Prioritizing Patient Access to Care Act, makes Massachusetts one of only a handful of states in the country with no gestational limit on abortion, cementing its place among the most protective abortion laws in the nation for women and families.
What the New Law Changes
Under the previous statute, physicians were required to determine whether a patient’s circumstances fit within a narrow, four-part legal framework before providing abortion care after 24 weeks — permitting it only to preserve the patient’s life, to protect her physical or mental health, or in cases of a lethal or severe fetal diagnosis. The Prioritizing Patient Access to Care Act eliminates that framework entirely, replacing it with a standard that allows physicians to rely on their professional medical judgment, consistent with accepted standards of care. The law also strikes outdated reporting and facility requirements that providers said created unnecessary barriers, and it strengthens the state’s Shield Law, which protects patients and providers from investigations tied to legal reproductive care.
Governor Healey’s Remarks at the Signing
Speaking at a bill-signing event at the State House, Healey framed the law as a direct response to women and families who described being forced to leave Massachusetts during some of the most painful moments of their lives. “I’ve heard heartbreaking stories from women and families who were preparing to welcome a healthy baby into their family, only to receive devastating news later in their pregnancy,” Healey said. “Instead of being able to rely on the doctors they knew and trusted at home, they were forced to travel hundreds of miles and pay out of their pockets while navigating unimaginable grief. That should never happen in Massachusetts.”
Healey added that the law reflects a broader principle she has championed throughout her time in office — that medical decisions belong to women and their doctors, not to lawmakers. “We believe that health care decisions should be made between women and families and their doctors, not politicians,” she said. She also told the crowd gathered for the signing, “We’re going to make sure that women, in particular, are able to make their own health care decisions — not the government.”
Lieutenant Governor and Health Secretary Weigh In
Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll said the law addresses both patients and the physicians who care for them. “Families facing devastating pregnancy complications deserve compassion, support and the ability to receive care from the doctors they know and trust,” Driscoll said. “This law ensures more patients can get medically appropriate care close to home while giving physicians the clarity they need to make the best decisions for their patients.”
Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Kiame Mahaniah, a physician himself, echoed that sentiment. “As a physician, I know nothing should get between a patient, a doctor, and a health care decision,” Mahaniah said. “In signing this bill into law, Governor Healey is making sure that those decisions get made where they belong – in a physician’s office.”
Legislative Leaders Applaud the Bill’s Passage
The legislation moved quickly through the State House, clearing the House Ways and Means Committee on July 22 before passing both chambers in a burst of activity in late July. Senate President Karen E. Spilka, D-Ashland, credited the collaboration between chambers and advocates for getting the bill to Healey’s desk. “No person should have to make the hardest decision of their life without the support and care of their own doctor,” Spilka said. “With the Governor’s signature today, we are making clear that if you need reproductive care in Massachusetts, you can get it close to your home, in the state with the best medical care in the world, with a health care provider you trust.”
House Speaker Ronald J. Mariano, D-Quincy, said the reforms remove a legal structure that failed to account for the complexity of pregnancy-related care. “This legislation is about ensuring that in Massachusetts, reproductive health care decisions are made exclusively by the patient and her doctor — unencumbered by a legal framework that, in practice, isn’t always capable of accounting for the complexity and uncertainty inherent to pregnancy-related health care,” Mariano said.
The Bill’s Sponsors Speak Out
State Senator Robyn Kennedy, D-Worcester, the Senate sponsor of the bill, said the legislation was designed to keep pace with escalating threats to reproductive rights nationally. “As the Trump Administration ramps up attacks on reproductive care and abortion access nationwide, Massachusetts must continue closing gaps in care so that women have full autonomy over the care they need, when and where they need it,” Kennedy said. She added that the law “ensures Massachusetts patients do not have to leave the Commonwealth to get the care they need, and empowers physicians to support their patients throughout their pregnancies.”
Representative Christine Barber, the House sponsor, called the measure a matter of principle. “It comes down to a simple, but powerful conviction: decisions about abortion care must remain between a patient and their provider. No one else,” Barber said. Representative Lindsay Sabadosa, another House sponsor, said the change removes “arbitrary restrictions that cannot account for individual circumstances” and keeps care available to residents “without being forced to leave the Commonwealth.”
A Patient’s Story Behind the Legislation
Kate Dineen, a later-abortion patient and Reproductive Equity Now board member, stood alongside her husband, Alex Lawton, at Monday’s signing to share the experience that helped drive the bill forward. Dineen said she faced Massachusetts’ prior restrictions firsthand in 2021. “No one should be denied abortion care in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,” Dineen said. “After facing that painful reality myself in 2021, I am profoundly grateful that our state leaders are righting this wrong once and for all. By eliminating an arbitrary and harmful 24-week ban, this landmark legislation restores trust where it belongs—between patients and their providers.”
Reproductive Rights Advocates Celebrate
Claire Teylouni, interim co-executive director of Reproductive Equity Now, called the signing a turning point for patients across the state. “Today, Massachusetts reaffirmed that patients—not politicians—should make personal medical decisions,” Teylouni said. “At a time when abortion access is under attack across the country, this law sends a powerful message: Massachusetts will continue to trust patients, support providers, and lead with compassion.”
Dominique Lee, president and CEO of the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, noted the significance of the state’s new standing nationally. “Passage of this law brings us one step closer to realizing true reproductive freedom in Massachusetts,” Lee said. “I’m grateful to Governor Healey for continuing to champion reproductive freedom and promptly signing this legislation, which makes Massachusetts the 10th state in the nation to fully trust patients and their doctors with medical decisions later in pregnancy.”
The ACLU of Massachusetts also praised the new law. Executive Director Carol Rose said, “Abortion care is health care, and thanks to this new law, pregnant patients in Massachusetts will no longer have to travel far from their home state to access the care they need. At a time when reproductive freedom is under relentless attack across the nation, this new law ensures that our commonwealth remains at the forefront of the movement to protect and expand civil liberties in the United States.”
Medical Community Backing
The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, which represents physicians specializing in high-risk pregnancy, also voiced support. Dr. Lynn M. Yee, the organization’s vice chair of health policy and advocacy, said the group’s members are trained to provide care for complicated pregnancies but had been constrained by the state’s prior legal framework. “Historically, the Commonwealth’s laws have interfered with healthcare providers’ ability to provide evidence-based care for their patients, forcing many patients to travel out of state for care,” Yee said. “By expanding access to abortion care later in pregnancy, this act ensures Massachusetts patients can access high-quality, equitable reproductive healthcare in their communities.”
Part of a Broader Pattern for Healey
Monday’s signing builds on a series of reproductive rights actions Healey has taken since entering office, including one of the nation’s strongest Shield Laws protecting patients and providers from out-of-state investigations, and a 2024 executive order safeguarding access to emergency abortion care on the two-year anniversary of the Dobbs decision. Healey’s administration has repeatedly pointed to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling overturning Roe v. Wade as the backdrop for the state’s continued expansion of reproductive protections, arguing that Massachusetts has moved to fill gaps left as other states impose bans and restrictions.
What This Means for Women Nationally
The signing places Massachusetts among a small group of states — now numbering ten — that have eliminated gestational limits on abortion altogether, a distinction that has drawn both celebration from reproductive rights advocates and sharp criticism from opponents who argue the law goes too far. Supporters maintain that the change is fundamentally about trust: trusting women to make deeply personal medical decisions in consultation with the doctors who know them best, rather than under a legal framework dictated by the state. For women across Massachusetts facing the most difficult and painful pregnancy outcomes, the law represents a significant shift — one that keeps care, and the people who provide it, close to home.