Massachusetts Democrats Seek Abortion Expansion, Hoping to Join 6 Other States
by Jordan Hilger, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – Massachusetts is looking to join Rhode Island, Maine, Vermont, Illinois, Nevada, and New York as the next state to reduce restrictions on abortions, even as other states pass “heartbeat” bills seeking to prevent it.
The “Removing Obstacles and Expanding Access to Women’s Reproductive Health” Act, first presented on the Massachusetts House Floor by Democratic Representatives in January, removes the prohibition on minors seeking an abortion without parental consent, and allows for abortions to take place after a fetus is considered to be viable outside the womb in certain cases.
Massachusetts State Republican Party Chairman Jim Lyons lambasted the proposal as an “extreme infanticide act,” even while polls conducted by pro-life groups found Massachusetts to be one of the most abortion-friendly states, with 83% of Bay State residents supporting legal abortion, and 76% supporting late-term abortions in certain extreme cases.
The bill currently enjoys the support of 24 of 34 Senate Democrats, but could be debated until 2020, according to an aide for the state senator who presented it.
Republic governor Governor Charlie Baker, who repealed a 173-year-old Massachusetts state prohibition on abortion in 2018, has nevertheless said that he is not a supporter of late-term abortions and prefers Massachusetts state law on abortion as it exists currently.