Extreme even by pro-choice standards, the legalization of abortion up to birth in Massachusetts is being called a "severe human rights abuse."

Abortion up to birth is now legal in Massachusetts. While previously abortion in the state was limited to specific exceptions after 24 weeks, on August 10, Governor Maura Healey signed into law the Prioritizing Patient Access to Care Act, removing all restrictions on abortion access other than “the professional judgment of the physician.” 

Massachusetts now joins Alaska, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, and Vermont in removing all gestational age limits on abortion.

Boston’s Archbishop Richard Henning called the bill “a grave offense against the sanctity and dignity of every person,” but encouraged pro-life advocates to stand firm in their convictions, saying in a social media post, “I realize that those who work to uphold and promote that dignity may feel discouraged in this moment. I encourage us to continue to proclaim the beauty and the miracle of life.”

The decision is “shocking,” “horrendous,” and “an affront against the dignity of life,” said Archbishop Paul Coakley, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, in an EWTN interview.

The Massachusetts Catholic bishops called the decision “gravely immoral” and urged state senators not to support the bill after it had passed 119-33 in the state House of Representatives, but their plea went unheeded. 

Representatives who voted against the bill strongly condemned it. State Rep. Jeffrey Turco of Winthrop called the law “barbaric” and told Fox News Digital:

 This new law represents an extremist and dangerous position. To be clear, it allows abortion anytime, unrestricted, and in many cases, publicly funded until the moment of birth.

State Rep. Chris Markey of Dartmouth echoed Turco's concerns that the new law is extreme—even for those who support legal abortion—saying:

This law, I believe, is not consistent with the beliefs of the vast majority of my constituents. While many are pro-choice, you can still be pro-choice and see this law as going beyond the norms of acceptability.

Myrna Maloney Flynn, president of Massachusetts Citizens for Life, told Aleteia that the new law’s elimination of late-term reporting requirements is of particular concern, explaining:

While taxpayers will fund some of these late-term procedures, they will never know how many or from where outside Massachusetts women have traveled to receive them. 

At the same time, exactly what this law allows is poorly understood. Flynn said, “Many people do not understand what's involved in a late-term abortion.” Massachusetts Citizens for Life offers a fact sheet with links to helpful resources for those in the area facing unplanned pregnancies. 

Flynn further explained in a statement:

We encourage those celebrating Governor Healey’s politically-motivated signature to learn not only about late-term and “dismemberment” abortions, many of which Massachusetts taxpayers will fund, but also about perinatal hospice, palliative care options and other resources available to women faced with devastating, but never hopeless, fetal diagnoses… 

These abortions represent among the most severe human rights abuses permitted in only a few places around the world, including China and North Korea… 

History shows what that indifference means for people who society classifies as less than human and not worthy of our protection under the law.

Governor Healey is Catholic. After meeting Pope Francis in 2024, she wrote in an X post, “As a Catholic, I believe in our responsibility to care for others, especially those who are the most vulnerable among us…”

The change to Massachusetts abortion law comes at an interesting time as the cause for canonization recently advanced for Servant of God Ruth Pakaluk, former president of Massachusetts Citizens for Life. Her home state seems to need Servant of God Ruth’s prayers now more than ever.