Massachusetts Law Lifts 24-Week Abortion Limit

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey signed legislation on August 10, 2026, that eliminates the state's 24-week gestational limit on abortion, allowing the procedure to be performed through all nine months of pregnancy. The new law, titled the Prioritizing Patient Access to Care Act, makes Massachusetts the 11th U.S. jurisdiction, including Washington, D.C., to have no statutory gestational age limit for abortions.

The measure, which passed the state House of Representatives 119-33 on July 22 and the Senate 154-1 on July 31, takes effect 90 days after signing. It replaces a previous framework that generally prohibited abortions after 24 weeks except in cases involving a threat to the mother’s life, severe fetal conditions, or a grave diagnosis. Under the new law, a physician’s professional judgment alone is sufficient to determine if an abortion is medically appropriate later in pregnancy.

Governor Healey defended the change by citing stories of families who faced devastating fetal diagnoses later in pregnancy and were forced to travel out of state for care. “We’re signing this law today so that new patients, people we won’t know or won’t meet, will be able to get the care that...