Last week — on Christmas Eve to be exact — Governor Charlie Baker vetoed a bill from the Legislature to expand equitable access to abortion in Massachusetts.
Fortunately, the House and Senate had veto-proof majorities in support of the bill to override Baker this week.
The bill, which contains many of the provisions of the ROE Act, was a milestone in advancing reproductive freedom in the commonwealth. Patients seeking an abortion later in pregnancy will no longer be forced to leave the state, far from their families and support systems, in order to access care, and 16 and 17 year olds will no longer be forced to obtain a parent’s permission or endure a shame-inducing court process to receive abortion care. It’s simple: abortion is health care, and health care is a human right (two things our governor doesn’t understand).
On Monday, the House voted 107 to 46.
And then yesterday, the Senate voted 32 to 8.
Like how your legislators voted? Thank them here.
