BOSTON, United States: Governor Maura Healey signed a Massachusetts abortion law on Monday that removed specified medical criteria for abortions after 24 weeks and left decisions to a physician’s professional judgment.
The official bill text replaces four statutory grounds covering a patient’s life or health and certain fetal diagnoses with language that allows a physician to act in accordance with professional judgment.
The measure also states that no medical review process may override the judgment of a treating physician and the patient or the patient’s healthcare proxy.
Before the change, Massachusetts permitted abortion during the first 24 weeks. After that threshold, a physician had to determine that the procedure met one of the medical conditions listed in state law, according to the state’s abortion-law guide.
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Footage of the signing was posted by the governor’s official @MassGovernor account on X on August 10, 2026.
“We believe that health care decisions should be made between women and families and their doctors, not politicians,” Healey said during the event.
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SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser opposed the change and characterised it as allowing abortion “up until birth.”
That phrase does not appear in the legislation; the text describes the post-24-week standard as a matter of a physician’s professional judgment. The Massachusetts abortion law would take effect 90 days after signing.
