Child murder

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey signed the Prioritizing Patient Access to Care Act on August 10, 2026, eliminating the state's prior 24-week framework for abortion, which had limited later-term procedures to cases involving the mother's life or severe fetal conditions. The new law replaces that standard with a physician's "professional judgment," with no medical review process able to override that determination, effectively removing a defined gestational limit.

Massachusetts joins a small number of states and the District of Columbia that have dropped objective post-viability restrictions since the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade and returned abortion policy to the states. The change has drawn criticism from anti-abortion advocates who argue it authorizes the termination of viable pregnancies without meaningful oversight, while supporters frame it as expanding patient access to care. The law adds to the patchwork of state abortion policies that has emerged post-Dobbs, intensifying debate over whether Congress should establish uniform national standards rather than leaving the issue to vary by state.