Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey signed a sweeping abortion bill Monday that eliminates the state’s previous 24-week gestational limit and gives doctors broader discretion to perform abortions later in pregnancy.
The Democratic governor signed the Prioritizing Patient Access to Care Act surrounded by supporters, making Massachusetts the latest deep-blue state to remove a specific gestational age cutoff from its abortion law.
Under the new law, health care providers will have greater authority to determine whether an abortion should be performed later in pregnancy without facing the legal restrictions that previously applied after 24 weeks.
Healey said the change is aimed at women facing serious medical complications, including threats to the mother’s health and fatal fetal diagnoses.
She also vowed that Massachusetts would continue protecting abortion access regardless of what happens in Washington.
“We believe that health care decisions should be made between women and families and their doctors, not politicians,” Healey said. “Abortion will remain safe. It will remain legal, and it will remain accessible here in Massachusetts. That’s my commitment to you.”
The law is scheduled to take effect in 90 days.
Massachusetts previously generally prohibited abortions after 24 weeks, with limited exceptions.
The state now joins Alaska, Colorado, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon and Vermont, along with the District of Columbia, in operating without a specific gestational age limit written into law.
A bunch of liberal women grin from ear to ear as Massachusetts Governor signs bill allowing abortion until birth
Demonic pic.twitter.com/DekZtyGDAa
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) August 11, 2026
Healey cast the bill as a major victory for abortion-rights advocates and sharply criticized opponents.
“The bottom line for people in Massachusetts, if you care about women’s health, if you care about making sure that women are able to access the health care that they need in consultation with their doctors, should be clear,” she said. “I stand with women. My opponents do not.”
The governor also framed the legislation as a direct shield against President Donald Trump, congressional Republicans and future court action following the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
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“It is up to the states to lead,” Healey said. “And as governor, I promise that no matter what Donald Trump or Republicans in Congress or the Supreme Court does, we’re going to continue to make sure that women and families have access to the health care that they need, right here in Massachusetts.”
Pro-life groups immediately blasted the measure, arguing that removing a firm gestational limit opens the door to abortions far later in pregnancy than most Americans support.
SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser condemned the law as “egregious” and called for Republicans to pursue national protections for unborn children.
“It should shock the conscience that tens of thousands of unborn Americans are barbarically dismembered limb by limb and torn apart every single year,” she said. “Sadly, that number will only increase with Gov. Healey’s approval of the Abortion Up Until Birth Bill. 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.”
Dannenfelser also argued that the United States remains unusually permissive compared with much of the world when it comes to abortions later in pregnancy.
“Without a minimum national standard, the United States remains 1 of only 8 countries worldwide that allows abortion at any point in pregnancy. We must do all we can to turn the page on America’s ugly chapter of late-term abortion.”
SBA identified Australia, Canada, China, Guinea-Bissau, Mexico, South Korea and Vietnam as other countries it says permit abortion throughout pregnancy under varying legal frameworks.
The new Massachusetts law is likely to become another flashpoint in the national abortion fight as Democratic-led states move to expand access while Republicans and pro-life groups push for tighter limits and federal protections for unborn children.
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