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Massachusetts becomes 11th state with no abortion limits as Gov. Healey signs bill

Tessa Gervasini By Tessa Gervasini for EWTN News
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey signs the bill for abortions up to birth, on August 10, 2026. (Image: Screen shot / X.com)

Democratic Gov. Maura Healey signed a bill allowing abortion at any point in pregnancy in the state of Massachusetts, making it the 11th state to impose no limits on abortion.

The legislation signed Aug. 10 removes all of the state’s restrictions on abortion after 24 weeks. An elective late-term abortion may be done based upon “the professional judgment of the physician” performing it, under the law.

“It should shock the conscience that tens of thousands of unborn Americans are barbarically dismembered limb by limb and torn apart every single year. Sadly, that number will only increase with Gov. Healey’s approval of the Abortion Up Until Birth Bill,” Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA Pro-Life America, said in a statement.

The state Senate sent the legislation to Healey’s desk on July 31 for her signature.

Under the previous statute, state law allowed abortion during the first 24 weeks of pregnancy if a physician says it is necessary to preserve the life, physical or mental health of the woman, because of a lethal fetal anomaly or diagnosis, or because the fetus wouldn’t likely survive outside the uterus.

“Today, mothers and fathers and families who experience these devastating diagnoses — and they are devastating, heartbreaking — now theyʼll be able to make their own choices,” Healey said at a press conference on Aug. 10.

Healey and supporters of the measure said the change in the law was needed because Massachusetts hospitals were increasingly refusing to provide abortions for women who already qualified for post‑24‑week abortions under existing law and that doctors needed clearer authority to reaffirm that medical judgment governs late‑term abortion decisions.

Healey, who is an outspoken supporter of abortion access, has served as the state’s governor since 2023.

Responding to the enacted legislation, Dannenfelser urged that the GOP “must abandon the ‘leave it to the states’ position — a stance that permits egregious late-term abortion laws like this one — and advance national protections for unborn children.”

SBA Pro-Life America highlighted that abortions done during the second and third trimesters are generally done by dismemberment of the baby or labor, noting that inducing labor may result in a live birth.

“Without a minimum national standard, the United States remains 1 of only 8 countries worldwide that allows abortion at any point in pregnancy,” Dannenfelser said.

According to a 2024 study from the Charlotte Lozier Institute, 46 of 50 countries in Europe limit abortion after 15 weeks –– a point by which the baby feels pain. The institute also found that over 60,000 abortions occur after 15 weeks each year.

“We must do all we can to turn the page on America’s ugly chapter of late-term abortion,” Dannenfelser said.


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24 Comments

    • No. She is in an open relationship with a woman and never attends any church in adulthood. She may have been baptized as an infant but not apparently raised in the faith. She does not “pretend” to be religious at all.

      • Yes she does. When you visit the Vatican for a photo op with the Holy Father and post the photo and begin the post with, “As a Catholic…” you’re pretending to be religious. Really she’s just a coward.

  1. Healey, of course, is Catholic. She didn’t commit the unforgivable sin of consecrating bishops without papal approval, so no excommunication for her. In fact, the butch governor was warmly greeted by Pope Francis when she spoke at the Vatican a couple of years ago on a topic the Church really cares about: “climate change.”

  2. The image of those smiling women in the photo is really distressing. They managed to escape feticide but are in effect applauding its future victims. So sad & so uninformed.
    🙁

    • “It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies and nosers-out of unorthodoxy.”

      ― George Orwell, 1984

    • My ID – one I chose many years ago – was intended to protect children from conception to birth. It was also intended to protect them after birth from any exploitation after birth. I will change this ID because it is subject to misunderstanding.

  3. So the Catholic governor of Massachusetts believes it to be moral to murder a full-term baby! Any normal person would be ashamed. She’s obviously abnormal.

  4. Google search terms: religious beliefs of Democratic Gov. Maura Healey

    AI Overview begins (links omitted):

    Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey is Roman Catholic. She has publicly connected her faith to her progressive political values, citing a moral obligation to care for vulnerable populations, support social justice, and address issues like climate change.

    Faith and Public Life

    Catholic Identity: Healey identifies as a Catholic and frequently references her background and beliefs when discussing community responsibility and ethics.

    Vatican Engagement: She delivered a keynote address at a Vatican climate summit, where she met and spoke with Pope Francis regarding environmental stewardship and social compassion.

    Intersection with Policy

    Social and Reproductive Rights: Healey is a strong proponent of abortion access and LGBTQ+ rights, having made history as one of the first openly gay governors elected in the United States.

    Political Nuance: Her policy positions on reproductive rights place her at odds with official Catholic Church canon, though she has maintained that personal faith and progressive governance can coexist for Catholic Democrats.

  5. Catholic Democrats are all in on abortion. In Illinois there is a boatload of pro baby killing so called Catholic Democrats. Beyond that what I find more offensive is the silence of so many bishops. Here in Illinois Cardinal Cupich wanted to give an award the soon to retired so called Catholic Senator Durbin. I think the Cardinal backed off when a issue was made of it. When will the Catholic leadership speak up not just 1 or 2 but all.

    • At least add it to the homilies from time to time, they may save a life or lives by doing so. If someone gets up and leaves then maybe the homilist “got to someone.” In the sales world having a door slammed in your face or the phone slammed down is considered a favor – you’re one step closer to success and that prospect didn’t waste your time with niceities(sp).

  6. Regarding the pro-abortion so-called “Catholics,” their ability to manage cognitive dissonance is truly astounding.

  7. Massachusetts (the second most -after Rhode Island- Catholic identifying State. ) What went wrong? Might be a good idea to look into catechism failure. Better to admit and correct errors than assigning blame. Remember that the Democratic Party was dominated by corrupt machine politics for years and that the Church was heavily involved . You reap what you sow- bad seed produces bad fruit, and it is this bad fruit that we are reaping today and we sowed the seeds. It is time that we take stock ,admit failure , correct course and move on before we get too proud and destroy the Republican Party which we have heavily infiltrated of late.

  8. Politico reported on Healey’s speech at the Vatican: “As a Catholic, I think about what we were taught about making sure that we look after those around us — that we pay particular attention to those who are the most vulnerable among us.”

    She thinks about what she was taught but she’ll allow babies to be murdered, thereby defining herself a hypocrite.

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