Massachusetts Democrats have enacted a major expansion of the state’s abortion laws — but the measure proved so sweeping that even some pro-choice Democrats refused to go along.
Democratic Gov. Maura Healey signed the Prioritizing Patient Access to Care Act on Monday, dramatically changing the legal framework governing abortions later in pregnancy.
The law scraps the state’s previous statutory gestational restrictions, which generally limited abortions beyond 24 weeks except in certain circumstances. It instead gives physicians broader discretion to determine when an abortion is medically appropriate while expanding legal protections for doctors.
