Leading state, national medical organizations affirm support of ROE Act
CONTACTS:
Johanna Kaiser, Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund of Massachusetts, jkaiser@pplm.org
Kate Lagreca, ACLU of Massachusetts, klagreca@aclum.org
Rebecca Hart Holder, NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts, rebecca@ProChoiceMass.org
Tom Flanagan, Massachusetts Medical Society, tFlanagan@mms.org
BOSTON – The Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) has announced its support of the ROE Act, adding the voices of Massachusetts physicians and medical students to the effort to protect and improve abortion access in Massachusetts. MMS joins the Massachusetts Chapter of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (MA-ACOG) and the national Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, who also back the ROE Act.
MMS is a professional association representing over 25,000 physicians, residents, and medical students across all clinical disciplines, organizations, and practice settings in the state. Its support for the ROE Act aligns the organization’s goals to reduce health disparities for vulnerable populations, enhance and protect the physician-patient relationship, and preserve physicians’ ability to make clinical decisions for the benefit of patients.
“Massachusetts Medical Society policy states that access to reproductive health care should be available,” said Massachusetts Medical Society president Maryanne C. Bombaugh, MD, MSc, MBA, FACOG. “By supporting the amendment of our state laws, we are protecting a person’s right to make deeply personal and complex decisions with the support and trusted guidance of their physician, without inequity and absent undue barriers or stigma.”
The ROE Act builds safeguards for young people seeking abortion care; includes abortion in the pregnancy-related safety-net coverage provided to Massachusetts residents ineligible for MassHealth coverage; ensures access to abortion after 24 weeks of pregnancy in cases of fatal fetal diagnoses; reforms state law to remove inflammatory definitions and medically unnecessary restrictions; and codifies the principles of reproductive freedom into state law.
MMS now joins more than 60 medical, advocacy, and legal organizations backing the ROE Act.
“Massachusetts Medical Society’s endorsement makes it crystal clear: patients deserve access to comprehensive reproductive health care,” said the ROE Act Coalition. “The ROE Act improves access to care and ensures that abortion remains a personal decision for pregnant people and those they trust the most: their family and health care providers.”
The ROE Act Coalition is a statewide coalition committed to passing the ROE Act to protect and expand access to abortion in Massachusetts. Founding organizations include the ACLU of Massachusetts, NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts, and Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund of Massachusetts.
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