Cape Cod Times | Mass. Attorney General announces free Abortion Legal Hotline

By Denise Coffey
Story Originally Appeared in The Cape Cod Times

BOSTON — Flanked by women leaders who Democratic Whip Katherine Clark called "champions of justice," Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell announced on Monday the the Abortion Legal Hotline for providers, helpers and patients seeking care in Massachusetts with legal advice and resources on abortion services.

Campbell was joined by representatives from the Women's Bar Foundation, ACLU, Reproductive Equity Now Foundation, and legislative leaders U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, and Clark.

Former Attorney General Martha Coakley, now of Foley, Hoag LLP, spoke for the five law firms and 150 lawyers who signed on to provide pro-bono assistance on the hotline.

Former Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley and gubernatorial candidate speaks during a 2014 campaign rally in Framingham.

"It is important that we once again stand up for women's reproductive rights," Coakley said.

What is the number for the hotline?

The Abortion Legal Hotline is 833-309-6301. It went live as of 7 a.m. Monday.

Rebecca Holder, president of the Reproductive Equity Now Foundation, said reproductive equity is about more than access to abortion. Every one of the women who spoke talked about the bedrock rights that women have bodily autonomy, that they be able to live free of extremist laws, that they have the right to parent children — and to make decisions for their own health and safety, without the intrusion of the state or federal government.

What has happened since Roe v. Wade was overturned?

In seven months since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, anti-abortion advocates in Missouri, Texas, Indiana and other states have passed laws or contemplated laws that would punish women seeking abortions or those helping them, or the providers involved.

Holder called the laws draconian, and part of a nationwide effort to ban abortions.

But after the Dobbs decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade, Massachusetts passed laws that include legal protections for providers and patients. The hotline will provide free and confidential service that is intended to connect providers, helpers and patients accessing care in the state with free legal services to fully understand the scope of the new law and callers' legal rights.

"Today abortion remains legal in Massachusetts, and no anti-abortion extremist should be able to reach across our borders and challenge that," Holder said. "It will help ensure patients from places like Texas, Missouri or Indiana feel safe and protected when traveling to our commonwealth for care."

What kind of support is in Massachusetts?

Warren complimented the announcement by Campbell on just her twelfth day in office. Since the Supreme Court issued its Dobbs decision, more than a dozen states have responded by banning or severely restricting abortions, but not Massachusetts, Warren said. State law makes it possible for Massachusetts providers to help patients from other states who need abortion care.

She said it was important that Massachusetts remains a safe place for anyone who needs abortion care, and that the state leads the fight to protect reproductive freedom the law across the nation. She said the partnerships formed will help every woman have access to the health care services they need.

"We will not go back. Not now. Not ever," Warren said.

Clark said health, safety and freedom are fundamental in a country where there is equity for everyone. She called it a frightening time for the country when a constitutional right was torn away by a "right-wing Supreme Court." She said the court decision had far-reaching and horrific consequences and was an assault on liberty.

"From women being denied life-saving care to teenagers forced to carry state-mandated pregnancies, extremists have put lives at risk selling out the American people for a twisted vision of a country where freedom is reserved for a privileged few," she said.