UPDATE: Massachusetts Gov. OVERRIDES successful pro-life campaign, enacts unrestricted abortion law anyway

Last month, several organisations such as Massachusetts Citizens for Life (MCFL), Democrats for Life of America and others banded together to form the Compassionate Care Coalition which sought to oppose the law Gov. Maura Healey signed in the summer — a law which would add Massachusetts to the list of US states with no gestational limit on abortion.

The goal of the pro-life groups was to put the extreme abortion law before voters in 2028, and suspend the law from coming into practice before then.

The Compassionate Care Coalition collected nearly 100,000 signatures from the population of eligible voters in Massachusetts, nearly double the amount needed for placing the issue on the ballot in 2028 and to freeze the law. 

Late-term abortions

In August 2026, Gov. Healey signed a bill that would expand abortion access in the State by leaving the decision on whether or not to abort an unborn child, at any gestational point, entirely to “the professional judgement of the physician”. It is worth noting that the law in Massachusetts at the time already allowed for abortion on demand up to 24 weeks. Abortions after this point were permitted under specific conditions, such as to “protect a patient's physical or mental health”, or cases involving diagnoses of life-limiting conditions for the unborn child.

The new law effectively removes all restrictions on late term abortion up to birth. While abortion advocates within the state claim that late term abortions are rare, they still argue that those looking to abort their unborn children in the third trimester should have the right to do so.

Democrat Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa, who sponsored the bill, has stood behind this legislation and stated that voting it in is the “right” and “compassionate” thing to do.

The law was set to be suspended, pending certification of signatures collected, unless Gov. Healey explicitly went out of her way to sign an emergency preamble to the unrestricted abortion bill. 

Defending her decision, Healey wrote in a statement on Substack that she was “Catholic”, and her purported faith has actually helped form her “understanding of service”:

"I am Catholic, and my faith is an important part of who I am," Healey said. "It has shaped my understanding of service, responsibility and our obligation to care for others. My faith teaches me to meet people with compassion, respect their dignity, and approach suffering with humility.

"I am also Governor for people of every faith and belief. My responsibility is to ensure that every family can make deeply personal medical decisions according to their own circumstances, values and the guidance of their doctors."

President of Massachusetts Citizens for Life, Myrna Maloney Flynn, said in a statement that Gov. Healey's emergency action "reflects an utter disregard for the men and women she was elected to represent."

The good news

While the explicit refusal of Gov. Healey to give any credence to the nearly 100,000 signatures received by the Compassionate Care Coalition is disheartening, it is not the end: the extreme abortion law is still set to go on the ballot in 2028. 

It may still be repealed. 

Until then, Massachusetts pro-lifers will continue to work relentlessly to spread the truth of abortion and the innate right to life of every unborn human — regardless of what any law or piece of paper says.