Massachusetts House passes later-term abortion bill
BOSTON —
The Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a bill Wednesday that would allow doctors to decide on later-term abortions without the current list of exceptions, sparking debate among lawmakers.
The Massachusetts House of Representatives passed the bill 119 to 33 to leave the decision to terminate a pregnancy after 24 weeks to the professional judgment of doctors.
State law currently permits abortions up to 24 weeks, with exceptions for cases involving a deadly fetal diagnosis or to protect the life of the mother. The new bill eliminates these exceptions.
“We’ve decided to get away from all the exceptions and trust our medical professionals, who are the best in the world, to make those decisions with the informed consent of the patient,” said Rep. Michael Day.
Kate Dineen, who was 33 weeks pregnant when she received devastating news, shared her personal experience.
“I discovered that my son had suffered a catastrophic stroke in utero, and there was a chance he would die in utero or survive for some period of time. No chance of a normal healthy outcome,” Dineen said.
Dineen explained that she had to travel to Maryland for an abortion because her son’s diagnosis did not meet the criteria for the lethal fetal abnormality exception under Massachusetts law at the time.
“Despite my son’s catastrophic diagnosis, it didn’t qualify for the lethal fetal abnormality exception in place at the time,” she said.
House Republicans strongly opposed the bill, arguing that abortion laws in Massachusetts are already too permissive.
“It’s a very sad day in the commonwealth of Massachusetts. The precedent that we’re setting is that a mother can get an abortion up until the moment of birth for a healthy, viable baby,” said Rep. Alyson Sullivan-Almeida.
“This is a significant change to the law to expand what is already an extremely progressive abortion policy in Massachusetts,” said Rep. Joseph McKenna.
The bill now moves to the Senate, where a spokesperson said lawmakers look forward to reviewing it. The governor’s office did not respond to requests for comment.