The Archdiocese of Boston and Catholic leaders across Massachusetts are condemning a bill signed by Gov. Maura Healey that allows physicians to perform abortions after 24 weeks of pregnancy based on their “professional judgment.”

The legislation, which Healey signed earlier this week, removes previous restrictions on later-in-pregnancy abortions and is backed by supporters who say the change will help more patients stay in-state to receive care.

Previously, the state’s framework enabled abortions at or beyond 24 weeks of gestation only in a specific, four-pronged set of life-threatening situations for the patient or fetus.

The new legislation eliminates that framework, stating instead that “an abortion may be performed by a physician based upon the professional judgment of the physician.”

That change has set off the blowback.

“The passage and signing of a bill radically expanding abortion in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a grave offense against the sanctity and dignity of every person,” Archbishop Richard Henning said in a statement.

“I realize that those who work to uphold and promote that dignity may feel discouraged in this moment,” the archbishop added. “I encourage us to continue to proclaim the beauty and the miracle of life. The Word of God commands us, ‘choose life that you may live’ (Deut 30:19). May that truth give us strength and hope.”

In late July, Henning, alongside Worcester Bishop Robert McManus, Fall River Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, and Springfield Bishop William D. Byrne, had urged the state Senate not to advance the law to the governor’s desk.

The bishops explained that “late-term” under the law meant “abortion after 24 weeks of pregnancy and up until the birth of the child,” which they described as a “radical measure” and “gravely immoral.”

“As Catholic bishops,” they stated, “we have a moral responsibility to present and uphold Catholic teaching and the sacred God-given dignity of every human life from conception to the natural death.”

Advocacy groups echoed the church’s condemnation.

Myrna Maloney Flynn, president of Massachusetts Citizens for Life, said Healey’s signature was “politically motivated.”

She argued that legalizing elective abortion up to birth is “not about protecting the doctor-patient relationship” and constitutes one of the “most severe human rights abuses permitted in only a few places around the world, including China and North Korea.”

Flynn encouraged supporters of the new law to learn about “perinatal hospice, palliative care options, and other resources available to women faced with devastating, but never hopeless, fetal diagnoses.”

The American College of Pediatricians is calling for Healey and the state Legislature to restore “meaningful protections for viable preborn children.”

“This is a contradiction in healthcare,” Dr. Robin Pierucci said of the new law. “The child’s humanity does not change based on whether he or she is inside or outside the womb. The intentional taking of innocent human life is not health care.”

The state’s major medical providers are backing the change.

In mid-July, the Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association, Beth Israel Lahey Health, Mass General Brigham, Tufts Medicine, and UMass Memorial Health sent a letter of support to House Speaker Ron Mariano, writing that the state’s existing statutory framework did “not adequately meet the needs of all patients.”

While the new law opens the door for patients to receive care locally, procedures at this stage of pregnancy remain rare.

According to Department of Public Health data, there were 99 abortions performed at 24 weeks or later in 2024, compared to 84 in 2023.

While public health officials noted a sharp increase in the total number of all abortions in Massachusetts in 2024—driven heavily by out-of-state patients accessing early abortion care through telehealth—procedures after 24 weeks remain a small fraction of the state’s overall numbers.

“We’ve heard so many stories — stories that are filled with a lot of pain and anguish and heartache and a lot of trauma,” Healey said inside her ceremonial office on Monday, alongside supporters and other elected officials. “We heard stories about the worst moments of a person’s life, of a couple’s life.”

“We’re signing this law today,” the governor added, “so that new patients, people we won’t know or won’t meet, will be able to get the care that they need in Massachusetts.”

The new legislation will go into effect in the coming months.

State House News Service contributed to this report