Restrictions

Massachusetts generally restricts abortion at twenty-four week post-fertilization,^[1]MASS. GEN. LAWS ch. 112, § 12M. See id. § 12K (defining pregnancy as “the presence of an implanted human embryo or fetus in the uterus”). Massachusetts law generally requires that one parent or guardian or a judge consent to a minor’s abortion if the young person is under 16.^[2]Id. § 12R.

Massachusetts law requires providers to report certain abortions to the state.^[3]Id. § 12Q. Massachusetts law restricts the provision of abortion care at twenty-four weeks of pregnancy to licensed physicians and to circumstances where the patient’s life or health is at risk or the patient receives a grave fetal diagnosis.^[4]Id. § 12N.

State Protections

Massachusetts law includes constitutional protections for abortion. In 1981, the Massachusetts Supreme Court held that the due process protections of the state constitution protect abortion.^[5]Moe v. Sec’y of Admin. & Fin., 417 N.E.2d 387, 397-99 (Mass. 1981); Planned Parenthood League of Mass., Inc. v. Att’y Gen., 677 N.E.2d 101, 103-04 (Mass. 1997). Massachusetts state law also protects the right to abortion.^[6]Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 112, § 12L. Massachusetts affirms the right of physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and nurse midwives to provide abortions before twenty-four weeks of pregnancy.^[7]Id. § 12M. Massachusetts provides public funding for abortion care.^[8]Moe, 382 Mass. at 629. The state protects clinic safety and access by prohibiting obstruction and providing a buffer zone.^[9]MASS. GEN. LAWS ch. 266, §§ 120E (preventing obstruction), 120E 1/2 (providing a buffer zone).

In 2022, Massachusetts enacted statutory protections shielding providers, patients, pharmacists, and people who help others access abortion from professional licensure consequences and the reach of out-of-state investigations and legal actions.^[10]H.B. 5090, 2022 Leg. Reg. Sess. (Ma. 2022). Further, Massachusetts allows anyone sued in another state for providing, accessing, or helping someone access abortion to file their own legal action for unlawful interference with a protected right, and recover actual damages from the out-of-state litigant.^[11]Id. In June 2022, the Massachusetts governor issued an executive order prohibiting executive branch cooperation with out-of-state investigations and legal actions arising from the lawful provision of abortion in Massachusetts;^[12]Mass. Exec. Order No. 2022-600 (June 24, 2022), https://www.mass.gov/executive-orders/no-600-protecting-access-to-reproductive-health-care-services-in-the-commonwealth?n. these protections were subsequently codified in statute.^[13]H.B. 5090, 2022 Leg. Reg. Sess. (Ma. 2022).

Post-Roe Prohibitions

Massachusetts repealed its pre-Roe ban in 2018.^[14]Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 272, § 19, repealed by 2018 Mass. Acts ch. 155 § 2.

Conclusion

Now that the Supreme Court has overturned Roe, abortion will remain legal in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Supreme Court has recognized the right to abortion under the state’s constitution, and in 2021 Massachusetts passed comprehensive abortion rights legislation.