MA Among States With Abortion Protection If Roe V. Wade Falls

WORCESTER, MA — Massachusetts is one of a handful of states in the U.S. with a state law protecting abortion access, and state lawmakers recently expanded access to the medical after a veto by Republican Gov. Charlie Baker.

On Monday evening, POLITICO published a draft Supreme Court decision that lays out a legal case to overturn two key abortion decisions: Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Although only a draft, the document shows that the court is on the path toward rescinding abortion access, which would lead to it being outlawed in many states.

In December 2020, the state Senate overrode a Baker veto of the ROE Act, sponsored by Worcester Democratic state Sen. Harriette Chandler, state Rep. Patricia Haddad (D-Bristol) and state Rep. Jay Livingstone (D-Boston).

The law allows abortions through 24 weeks of pregnancy, and allows the procedure beyond 24 weeks if a physician decides "the abortion is necessary to protect the patient’s life or physical or mental health, or in cases of lethal fetal anomalies, or where the fetus is incompatible with sustained life outside the uterus." Most states restrict access through 20 weeks. The law also lowered the age of parental consent for an abortion to age 16 and younger. Baker opposed both of those provisions in his veto.

The law also enshrines abortion as a right in Massachusetts under state law, protecting access should the federal rulings fall.

"The Commonwealth shall not interfere with a person’s personal decision and ability to prevent, commence, terminate, or continue their own pregnancy consistent with this chapter," the law says. "The Commonwealth shall not restrict the use of medically appropriate methods of abortion or the manner in which medically appropriate abortion is provided."

According to the Guttmacher Institute, more than a dozen states could ban abortion instantly if Roe v. Wade was overturned. Every state in New England — except New Hampshire — and New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Delaware have similar state-level protections as Massachusetts, according to a Washington Post analysis.

The draft decision reported by POLITICO is preliminary. The news outlet highlighted that draft decisions are subject to change due to internal Supreme Court deliberations. Abortion rights groups on Tuesday were reinforcing that Roe v. Wade is still law until the Supreme Court acts.

"There is power in state and local leadership to protect our fundamental right to abortion and expand access to care. We’ve proven that in Massachusetts and will continue to lead by legislating reproductive health equity in every corner of the Commonwealth," the Planned Parenthood Action Fund of Massachusetts tweeted Tuesday morning.