Overview
- The law H.5595, signed by Gov. Maura Healey on Aug. 10, 2026, eliminates the previous 24‑week statutory limit and replaces it with a single‑physician professional‑judgment standard for later‑term abortions.
- Supporters including major hospital groups argue the change preserves clinician discretion and keeps complex, late pregnancy care in Massachusetts rather than forcing patients to travel out of state.
- Conservative and faith outlets have characterized the statute as permitting abortion through all nine months and raised concerns that a sole approving physician could create a conflict of interest and reduce safeguards.
- Implementation questions remain unsettled: the law is scheduled to take effect in roughly 90 days, reporting and oversight rules have not been finalized, and advocates on both sides are mobilizing politically and legally.
- The change follows the post‑Roe shift that left abortion policy to states and places Massachusetts among a small group of U.S. jurisdictions with no fixed late‑term cutoff, a development likely to shape fall campaigns and wider policy debates.