Boston Business Journal | Top Mass. law firms partner with AG on abortion legal services hotline
By Ben Kail
Story Originally Appeared in Boston Business Journal
Massachusetts employers, health care providers and patients nationwide now have access to a free abortion legal services hotline thanks to a joint effort by five of the region’s top law firms, the state Attorney General’s office, and advocacy and legal groups.
The hotline comes in the wake of last June’s Dobbs v. Jackson decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which overturned the right to abortion established 50 years ago in Roe v. Wade. The hotline marks the latest post-Dobbs effort by law firms, policymakers and legal groups to combat what experts and lawmakers describe as a chaotic state-by-state pathwork of abortion regulations and new roadblocks to access and information for workers, patients and providers.
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Attorney General Andrea Campbell announced the hotline in a news conference Monday morning flanked by several women, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Reps. Katherine Clark and Ayanna Pressley, former Attorney General Martha Coakley, state Sen. Cindy Friedman and leaders from some of the state's biggest legal groups and law firms.
Rebecca Hart Holder, president of Reproductive Equity Now, said more than 150 attorneys from Foley Hoag LLP, Goodwin Procter, Goulston & Stoors, Mintz and Ropes & Gray LLP, along with ACLU Massachusetts and the Women's Bar Foundation of Massachusetts, have agreed to provide pro bono legal advice to callers. The attorneys have received extensive training on a sweeping Massachusetts law, filed by Friedman and signed by former Gov. Charlie Baker last year, that expanded abortion access and protects providers who help out-of-state patients seeking care here.
“I have been absolutely stunned by the outpouring of support from the legal community,” said Hart Holder, who noted that over the last several months providers have increasingly sought answers on whether they can safely and legally offer care, or if they'll face prosecution or lawsuits.
The confidential hotline, which went live at 7 a.m. Monday, promises that callers will generally receive return calls within two to three days.
'Corporate leadership is key'
In an interview, Hart Holder told the Business Journal that employers increasingly believe that they can't maintain gender equity if workers don’t have access to reproductive healthcare, including abortion. She noted that Eastern Bank, Fidelity Investments, JPMorgan Chase and others “have recognized that and publicly made policy changes.”
“What we’ve realized is that corporate leadership is very key and this hotline is the kind of private-public partnership that is going to push the envelope,” she added.
Hart Holder said she’s hopeful businesses — on top of federal and state leaders, nonprofits and advocates — will serve as messengers to spread word about the hotline and the resources it provides to people seeking answers.
New York, Connecticut, Delaware and Oregon have established similar hotlines. But Hart Holder said a major difference is that Massachusetts has a shield law, which helps protect providers and those seeking access who might live in a state where abortion and related care has been curtailed or outlawed.
“I think Massachusetts can really lead the way here and be a game-changer,” she said.
The Business Journal reported in September that Reproductive Equity Now was working on creating “some kind of centralized place for lawyers who want to offer pro bono services,” according to Hart Holder.
Ready for battle
After the Dobbs decision was leaked, top law firms in Boston and across the country started gearing up their clients for uncharted battles over their day-to-day operations: advising health care providers on privacy law liabilities, hammering out language with employers expanding benefits like abortion and travel costs, and navigating regulations with stem cell researchers and fertility clinics in the wake of fetal personhood proposals in several Republican-led states.
Some states have proposed — or already made legal — lawsuits against those who’ve aided patients seeking abortions, ranging from providers to Uber drivers helping patients cross state lines, advocates and lawmakers said.
Karen O’Malley, who co-chairs Goulston & Storrs’ Pro Bono Committee, said the hotline comes “at a time when long-standing and fundamental rights of women and girls have been revoked and are under increasing curtailment and threat throughout the country.”
“This hotline will provide a critical communication channel for healthcare providers, patients and helpers who have questions about providing and accessing legal and safe abortion care,” she added.
Campbell, in her first news conference as AG, said state lawmakers and her predecessor, Gov. Maura Healey, helped launch efforts to bolster abortion access and protect health care plans, and to increase collaboration with legal groups, law firms and policymakers on reproductive care.
Campbell added that her office is forging ahead to establish a Reproductive Justice Unit focused on these issues.
“We have a team of folks who are always proactive … anticipating what harm may come to our residents and doing everything in their power to protect them,” she said.
Ropes & Gray LLP, Goodwin Procter, Mintz, Foley Hoag LLP, and Goulston & Stoors are among the top seven law firms in the commonwealth, according to Business Journal research.
The hotline is available at 833-309-6301.