BOSTON — Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey has signed legislation removing the state’s previous 24-week gestational limit on abortion, giving physicians greater discretion to provide abortion care later in pregnancy.
Healey, a Democrat, signed the measure Monday. The law is expected to take effect in 90 days and makes Massachusetts one of a small number of U.S. states without a statutory gestational-age limit on abortion.
Under the previous law, abortions after 24 weeks were generally restricted, with exceptions for circumstances including threats to a patient’s life or health and certain serious fatal conditions. The new legislation removes that statutory cutoff and places greater emphasis on physicians’ professional judgment and individual circumstances.
Supporters say the change will help patients facing complicated pregnancies obtain necessary care without traveling to another state.
Massachusetts House Speaker Ronald Mariano said the legislation is intended to ensure reproductive health decisions are made by patients and doctors rather than rigid legal restrictions.
Opponents strongly disagree, arguing that eliminating the gestational limit removes an important legal protection for unborn children and could allow abortions much later in pregnancy.
The debate reflects a widening divide in the United States since the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade and returned broad authority over abortion policy to individual states.
Since Dobbs, some states have adopted strict abortion bans, while others have expanded access and legal protections for providers and patients.
Massachusetts has long been among the states with stronger abortion protections. The latest law represents a significant further expansion of that approach.
The phrase “abortion up until birth,” however, can be misleading. Removing a statutory gestational-age limit does not mean abortions are routinely performed during labor or that every patient can automatically obtain an abortion at any stage.
Instead, the law gives doctors greater discretion in deciding whether later abortion care is medically appropriate under the circumstances of an individual pregnancy.
Later abortions are uncommon and can involve complex medical situations, including serious pregnancy complications or fetal conditions discovered later in pregnancy.
The policy could also affect interstate abortion travel. Patients from states with tighter restrictions may seek care in Massachusetts, particularly when they need specialized treatment unavailable in their home states.
That possibility has become increasingly important since Dobbs, as abortion access now varies significantly depending on where a person lives.
The change also adds to the national debate over whether abortion decisions should primarily be regulated by government or left to patients and medical professionals.
The debate is unlikely to end with the Massachusetts law. With states continuing to adopt sharply different abortion policies, reproductive health remains one of the most politically and legally contested issues in the United States.
For Massachusetts physicians and patients, the immediate change is that the previous 24-week statutory cutoff will no longer determine access to later abortion care once the law takes effect.
The U.S. abortion landscape changed significantly after the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade and returned broad authority over abortion regulation to individual states.
Massachusetts previously allowed abortion before 24 weeks and permitted later procedures under specified circumstances. The new law removes that statutory gestational-age limit and gives physicians greater discretion.
