Massachusetts House and Senate leaders agree to expand access to late-term abortions

Matt Murphy

House and Senate leaders have agreed to expand access to abortions after 24 weeks of pregnancy in cases where a doctor has made a “grave diagnosis” about the ability of the fetus to survive after birth, representing a compromise on one of the more controversial elements of a bill intended to respond to the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

Senate President Karen Spilka and Speaker Ron Mariano announced the breakthrough on the abortion rights bill Monday afternoon, offering only a broad description of the final outcome as staff works to finalize the legislation and get it filed by Monday night.

The statement from the Legislature’s top two Democrats and the lead negotiators for both branches said the compromise would help “ensure that women who face dire circumstances after 24 weeks of pregnancy are not forced to leave Massachusetts in order to access reproductive health care services.”

The original House bill proposed to expand access to abortions after 24 weeks to case involving “severe” fetal anomalies, not just fatal one. The Senate dropped that language from its bill as critics complained that it was too vague, and lawmakers said they didn’t have enough time to consider the implications.

House Ways and Means Chairman Aaron Michlewitz told the News Service that the compromise bill would make “a number of changes” to the existing law, including the addition of cases involving a “grave diagnosis.” The North End Democrat declined to go into further detail until the bill gets filed later tonight, with the hope of it surfacing for votes in the House and Senate on Tuesday.

Gov. Charlie Baker has expressed his reservations about expanding access to late-term abortions, though he has said he would reserve final judgment until he sees the language that reaches his desk.

The bill would also erect new legal shields to protect of reproductive health care and gender-affirming care from licensing consequences and legal action originating outside Massachusetts, and leader said it “requires that women who must face heart wrenching, difficult and critical decisions late in their pregnancies can make those decisions in true partnership with the provider who knows them best and who has their best interests in mind.”