Massachusetts House Passes Legislation Repealing Gestational Ban
Prioritizing Patient Access to Care Act would expand abortion access throughout pregnancy
Boston, MA (July 22, 2025) – Today, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed the Prioritizing Patient Access to Care Act (H. 5595), legislation sponsored by Representatives Christine P. Barber and Lindsay Sabadosa that would expand abortion access throughout pregnancy in Massachusetts by removing the arbitrary restriction on abortion care after 24 weeks. Following the vote, the legislation now heads to the Massachusetts Senate, where it must receive final passage before the Massachusetts legislative session ends on July 31.
“We are thrilled to see the Massachusetts House of Representatives take this crucial step to expand abortion access across the Commonwealth, ensuring that no Massachusetts patient has to leave home to receive the care they need,” said Claire Teylouni, interim co-Executive Director for Reproductive Equity Now. “At the end of the day, this bill is about trusting women and patients, and ensuring that our laws fully reflect that trust. The passage of today’s legislation is a step in that direction, and we are grateful to Speaker Mariano, Chairman Michlewitz, and every reproductive freedom champion in the House for advancing this legislation. We look forward to working with our champions in the Senate to swiftly get this bill across the finish line before the formal legislative session concludes later this month.”
Last July, the Massachusetts Legislature’s Joint Committee on Public Health held a public hearing on the Prioritizing Patient Access to Care Act, where patients and providers shared testimony and personal stories about the urgency of this legislation. On Tuesday, July 21, the legislation was released from the House Committee on Ways and Means.
“The Legislature has taken critical steps to increase access to abortion care over the last few sessions, including allowing for exceptions to access care later in pregnancy due to serious medical issues,” said Rep. Christine Barber (34th Middlesex). “While these changes improved access to care for many pregnant patients who face devastating diagnoses later in pregnancy, legal uncertainty surrounding the exceptions in our statute still poses a barrier. I filed this bill for the patients who still have to travel out of state and pay out of pocket to get the care their doctors say they need. Passing this legislation will ensure that abortion care is a decision made between a patient and their doctor – no one else. I am thrilled my colleagues joined me in voting to pass this bill the House chamber today.”
“The goal of passing this legislation is simple. Medical decisions should be made by a patient and their doctor. Massachusetts has one of the best healthcare systems in the country, and patients should be able to rely on their providers to deliver medically appropriate care without restrictions that can fail to account for the complexity of individual medical circumstances. By removing those barriers, we can ensure that no one has to leave Massachusetts to receive the care they need," said Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa (1st Hampshire).
“Our committee heard from patients, families, physicians, and medical experts who shared heartbreaking stories about how our current laws have forced Massachusetts residents to leave the state to access medically necessary abortion care. Those stories made one thing clear: patients deserve laws that trust them and their doctors—not politicians—to make deeply personal medical decisions,” said Rep. Marjorie Decker, House Chair of the Joint Committee on Public Health (25th Middlesex). “I am proud the House has acted to put patients and providers first, and I urge the Senate to send this critical legislation to the Governor’s desk before the end of the legislative session.”
Reproductive Equity Now is also proud to uplift support for this legislation from fellow advocates:
“At a time when many states are imposing dangerous and cruel restrictions on bodily autonomy, we appreciate the Massachusetts House for moving to protect patients' access to vital health care. The principle here is simple: Politicians and lawyers do not belong in the exam room. This bill ensures that decisions about reproductive care will be made by patients and their physicians. It's an important step in building a firewall for freedom to protect the rights of people across the Commonwealth,” said Carol Rose, Executive Director of the ACLU of Massachusetts.
“This bill recognizes that every pregnant person's experience is unique and that the decision to continue or end a pregnancy should be one that is made between a patient and their doctor alone. No patient should be forced to travel hundreds of miles for care that is desperately wanted, in the best interest of their health, and that we have the skill to provide at hospitals here in Massachusetts,” said Dr. Luu Ireland, Chief Medical Officer at Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts.
“Catholics for Choice applauds the MA House's passage of H.5595, which removes barriers to reproductive and religious freedoms by ensuring access to care for conscience-based healthcare decisions in difficult circumstances. In Massachusetts, Catholics make up nearly 29% of the population, and the majority of us support access to abortion. We will continue to urge the Senate to support this legislation and continue Massachusetts's leadership in defending reproductive rights,” said Lauren Bailey, Director of Organizing and Engagement.
Massachusetts current statute governing abortion care later in pregnancy prohibits care after 24 weeks of pregnancy unless the care meets one of four qualifying exceptions.
Despite progress made in the ROE Act and in the 2022 Shield Law to expand access to abortion later in pregnancy, dozens of patients are still forced to travel out of state for abortion later in pregnancy every year. Multiple providers estimate that they see as many as one patient per month who must leave the state if they decide to seek abortion care after 24 weeks, leaving Reproductive Equity Now to estimate that dozens of patients annually are forced to travel out of state for this care. Additionally, the abortion funds have shared some data that supports this estimation: the Abortion Rights Fund of Western Massachusetts testified at July's hearing on this legislation that they pledged to financially assist 16 patients to leave the state for later abortion between January and June of 2025, and the funds supported 5 patients leaving the state in January of this year.
In March 2025, Reproductive Equity Now Foundation unveiled polling showing that two in three (66%) Massachusetts voters support expanding abortion access throughout pregnancy based on the professional judgment of a licensed physician. The poll affirmed Bay Staters’ support for keeping health care decisions between patients and their doctors.
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