Alito Opinion Aftermath: Abortion Rights Won’t Change in Massachusetts

This past week, much of the nation was shocked when a leaked Supreme Court majority opinion from Justice Samuel Alito showed intent to reverse the decision from Roe v. Wade in 1973. As many know, the Roe v. Wade decision helped make first and second trimester abortions legal across the U.S., but in the wake of its undoing, the legality of abortion will be left up to the states. In Massachusetts, abortion is already a codified state right, thanks to the ROE Act passed in 2020. This and other ongoing legislative efforts exemplify how Massachusetts prioritizes abortion access, but as our data reveals, the state still can be impacted by the Alito opinion.

In anticipation of a possible Supreme Court reversal of Roe v. Wade, the Massachusetts state government passed the ROE Act as a part of its Senate fiscal year 2021 budget (SB4). Amendment #180 of SB4 enveloped parts of the original ROE Act (An Act to remove obstacles and expand abortion access, SB1209/HB3320), which both codified the right to have an abortion in state law as well as established other protections (see graphic above). In addition to protecting the general abortion rights of medical professionals and adults, the rights of teenagers were a specific focus for legislators to include. Because of this, individuals aged 16 years old and over are allowed to seek abortion care without consent from a guardian. The provisions in SB4 also enhance data collection on abortion, which is necessary for addressing ongoing barriers.

While many of the ROE Act protections were important to enshrine in law, this does not mean that the issue of accessing an abortion is completely resolved. This was apparent in this session as a number of bills on abortion were filed, including that of HB2399 and SB1470, which remains one of the last alive in the legislature. These bills, filed by Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa (D) and Senator Jason Lewis (D), seek to require all public universities in the Commonwealth to provide accessible abortion services or abortion medication on or near campu. According to advocates of HB2399 and SB1470, seven of the state’s public colleges (pictured above) currently have greater than a 3.5 hour round trip on public transportation to the nearest abortion clinic, with the average distance of a clinic being 55 miles away from campus.

According to the Guttmacher Institute, a lead organization in national pro-choice research, as of 2017 nearly 43% of Massachusetts counties had no clinics that provided abortions. While most northeast states protect the right to an abortion, few go as far as Massachusetts, and in neighboring states like New Hampshire, the current governor, Chris Sununu (R), has a track record of limiting abortion access in the state. Taking this into consideration, if access deserts already exist in Massachusetts, the changes to Roe could make access an even greater obstacle.

There is widespread, often bipartisan support for increasing the accessibility of abortions in the Commonwealth, especially in the wake of last week’s leak. Governor Charlie Baker (R) maintained his stance that abortions will remain legal in Massachusetts and that any Supreme Court decision will not impact the existence of the practice in the Commonwealth. Additionally, a vast amount of Democratic candidates for office voiced their commitment to the issue:

While staying up to date on any statutory changes to reproductive rights in Massachusetts may seem challenging, InstaTrac can help! We provide a variety of services including bill and amendment tracking, legislation summaries, direct video transcription, and more so that you never have to miss anything that happens. For more information or to see a demo of our services, please reach out to info@instatrac.com.