A new legislative session in Massachusetts means new bills filed on a myriad of subjects — including abortion.
In this legislative session, both the pro-life and pro-legal-abortion sides have filed bills in hopes of advancing their cause. What exactly have they proposed? Here is a look at what both sides have proposed in this session to date.
Pro-Life
1. An Act relative to unborn victims of violence (HD.2658)
The bill filed by state Representative David DeCoste (R-Norwell) would make the state recognize unborn babies who are not yet considered viable outside of the womb considered victims of crime. Currently, if someone were to harm a viable baby still inside the womb, that person could face murder, voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, assault, battery, or assault and battery charges. DeCoste’s bill offers that same protection to all unborn.
2. An Act to establish criteria to assess the maturity of a minor seeking an abortion, record keeping (HD.2657)
The bill filed by state Representative David DeCoste (R-Norwell) sets standards for what a judge should look for when considering whether or not to grant judicial consent for a minor under 16 seeking an abortion in the state. It also mandates that judges maintain a record of how many abortion requests they rule on, the number they grant or deny, the age of the minor making the request, and that they send these numbers to the state Commissioner of Public Health each year so they can be published in an annual report.
The standard DeCoste wants the judges to use is the minor’s maturity, which would be determined by: “whether or not the minor: has clear and realistic goals; exhibits perseverance in achieving goals; exercises self-control over her behavior, emotions, and anger; respects other people’s opinions or beliefs; is able to accept what she cannot change; expresses gratitude for what she has; is able to admit to being wrong; has self-confidence; tends to be satisfied with life; avoids envying and criticizing others; is willing to sacrifice to benefit someone else without complaint; assumes responsibility for her own mistakes or failures; is generous in doing good works; seeks information before taking action.”
3. An Act relative to instruction in pregnancy and prenatal care (HD.4018)
This bill filed by state Representative Joseph McKenna (R-Webster) would require that public schools teach either seventh, eighth, or ninth graders scientifically-accurate human prenatal development.
4. An Act relative to taxation (taxpayer conscience protection) (HD.4023)
The bill filed by state Representative Joseph McKenna (R-Webster) would let people who oppose using their tax dollars to fund abortion to instead redirect that money to the state’s Baby Safe Haven program that allows mothers to drop off their unharmed newborn baby at a hospital, police station, or fire station for adoption without further questions.
5. An Act relative to unborn victims of Down Syndrome (HD.3424)
The bill filed by state Representative Alyson Sullivan (R-Abington) would ban an abortion provider from performing an abortion “If the person has knowledge that the pregnant woman is seeking the abortion, in whole or in part” because the unborn baby has Down Syndrome.
Pro-Abortion
1. An Act to Require Public Universities to Provide Medication Abortion (HD.2246, SD.1431)
The bill filed by state Senator Jason Lewis (D-Winchester) in the Massachusetts Senate and state Representative Lindsay Sabadosa (D-Northampton) in the Massachusetts House would require that public health centers on public college campuses in the Bay State have drugs on-hand for students so they can have a drug-induced abortion.
2. An Act Ensuring Access to Full Spectrum Pregnancy Care (HD.2191, SD.605)
The bill proposed by state Representative Lindsay Sabadosa in the Massachusetts House and state Senator Cindy Friedman (D-Arlington) in the Massachusetts Senate would require that health insurance plans in Massachusetts cover abortions, prenatal care, childbirth, and postpartum care without any deductible or copayment.
3. An Act to Improve Access to Emergency Contraception (HD.2536, SD.1595)
The bill proposed by state Representative Marjorie Decker (D-Cambridge) in the Massachusetts House and state Senator Joseph Boncore (D-Winthrop) in the Massachusetts Senate would eliminate the requirement that a licensed pharmacist must complete a state-approved training program to distribute emergency contraception. Massachusetts Citizens for Life, which opposes abortion, describes emergency contraception as an abortifacient, meaning it can induce an abortion.
