Boston Governor Maura Healey signed an emergency declaration on Friday to ensure that a newly enacted abortion law takes effect as scheduled, a step that could affect families across the Commonwealth.
The law, titled “An Act Prioritizing Patient Access to Care,” permits physicians to perform abortions after 24 weeks at their discretion, removing the previous requirement that the mother’s life or health be at risk or that the unborn child be non‑viable. Healey signed the bill into law in August, and it is slated to become effective within 90 days of her signing on Nov. 8.
In response, Archbishop Richard Henning and Bishops Robert Joseph McManus (Worcester), Edgar Moreira da Cunha (Fall River), and William Byrne (Springfield) issued a joint statement denouncing the governor’s action. According to the Boston Herald, the bishops wrote that they “respectfully and passionately disagree that abortion, the taking of human life, may be considered health care” and that they “disagree that there is an emergency requiring the further expansion of the existing and already radically permissive law.”
The Catholic leaders invoked Pope Leo’s teaching that “the right to life is the indispensable foundation of every other human right,” urging legislators and the public to reconsider what they described as a “utilitarian and merciless approach” toward the elderly, the sick, the vulnerable, and the unborn.
Supporters of the governor’s move, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, praised the decision. ACLU executive director Carol Rose said that families have been forced to travel out of state for care, adding that the law addresses a “real and ongoing health care emergency.”
Opposition came from the anti‑abortion group Massachusetts Citizens for Life, which gathered more than 100,000 signatures on a petition to place a ballot question on the law. The group warned that the governor’s declaration could delay the law’s implementation until at least 2028. Citizens for Life president Myrna Maloney Flynn called the declaration “an utter disregard for the men and women she was elected to represent.”
Healey defended her action in a Substack post, stating, “I am Catholic, and my faith is an important part of who I am… I am also Governor for people of every faith and belief. My responsibility is to ensure that every family can make deeply personal medical decisions according to their own circumstances, values and the guidance of their doctors.”
What’s next: The law is set to take effect on Nov. 8, pending any legal challenges. Advocates on both sides are preparing for potential court battles, and the Citizens for Life petition may still influence future ballot measures.
Sources: bostonherald.com
