Earlier today, the MA House and Senate passed a comprehensive bill to strengthen protections for abortion care and gender-affirming care (H.5090).
According to the summary from the Beyond ROE Coalition, the bill contains the following important measures:
- Critical protections for Bay Staters who provide or help someone access reproductive health care and gender-affirming care;
- A requirement that insurance cover abortion and abortion-related care. The bill also ensures coverage is affordable—and not subject to cost sharing—for low-income individuals;
- A requirement that Massachusetts public colleges and universities provide medication abortion at campus health centers;
- A statewide standing order for both prescription and over-the-counter emergency contraception, making no-cost insurance coverage possible for all forms of emergency contraception without delay, and a statutory fix to ensure over-the-counter emergency contraception can be sold in vending machines;
- A confidential address program for reproductive health care and gender-affirming care providers who too often face threats and violence for providing health care; and
- Language to clarify the ROE Act and ensure pregnant people are not forced to leave Massachusetts for abortion care later in pregnancy.
The bill passed the Senate 39 to 1, with only Republican senator Ryan Fattman voting NO.
The House voted was 137 to 16, with 5 Democrats and 11 Republicans voting no.
