Massachusetts lawmakers are considering a bill aimed at expanding abortion access and clarifying existing legal language surrounding late-term pregnancy terminations. The legislation, which recently passed the state House with a vote of 119-33 and is now before the Senate, seeks to allow medical professionals greater discretion in making decisions about abortion care after 24 weeks of pregnancy.
The measure responds to personal accounts from women who have faced significant challenges under the state's current restrictions. One such account is from Kate Dineen, who in 2022 was denied an abortion at 33 weeks after an MRI revealed her unborn son had suffered a catastrophic stroke. Unable to receive care in Massachusetts, Dineen traveled approximately 500 miles to a clinic in Maryland, incurring substantial medical and travel expenses. After the procedure, she returned to Boston to give birth to the aborted fetus. Dineen has become an advocate for legislative change, emphasizing the need for doctors to be able to make judgment calls without restrictive language limiting their options.
Similarly, Nicole Martin described how, at 31 weeks of pregnancy, doctors at Boston Children’s Hospital determined that her unborn son’s brain had ceased development and that he would never achieve basic milestones such as talking or walking. However, the law’s requirement that abortions after viability be performed only in cases of a “grave fetal diagnosis” left uncertainty over whether her situation qualified, forcing her to seek care in Washington, D.C. Martin highlighted the emotional and physical toll of traveling out of state and stressed the importance of accessing care close to home with support from one’s own medical team and family.
The bill proposes replacing the ambiguous criteria like “grave fetal diagnosis” with language that entrusts decisions to a physician’s professional judgment. It has garnered support from reproductive rights advocates, legislators including state representatives Christine Barber and Lindsay Sabadosa and state senator Robyn Kennedy, as well as health care providers. Hospitals such as Beth Israel Lahey Health, Mass General Brigham, and UMass Memorial Health have endorsed the legislation, citing the complexities and nuances of late-term pregnancy cases that current statutes do not adequately address.
Advocates also point to broader changes in the national reproductive health landscape following the 2022 Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade. With increased abortion restrictions across many states, Massachusetts has seen a rise in telehealth abortion pill services, with medical abortions in the state doubling from 24,355 in 2023 to 49,450 in 2024—most of those patients coming from out of state. Proponents argue that the state has a responsibility to ensure its health care providers are not hamstrung by outdated laws, particularly as it remains a destination for abortion access.
Opponents of the bill, reflected in the legislative vote, have expressed concerns about loosening abortion restrictions, though specific objections and rationales were not detailed publicly. As the Senate reviews the legislation, advocates continue to urge lawmakers to finalize measures that would expand reproductive rights and codify Massachusetts’ status as a state with some of the strongest protections for abortion access in the country.