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Massachusetts

Maura Healey
Under Governor Maura Healey's leadership, Massachusetts has taken bold steps to protect reproductive freedom. Governor Healey has, for example, championed key legislation to strengthen abortion access, ensured the safe operation of reproductive healthcare clinics, and invested in widespread education efforts. Governor Healey's commitment to defending reproductive rights has established Massachusetts as a leader in this crucial area of healthcare and civil rights.

Maura Healey

Governor
Executive Order 609
Governor Healey issued Executive Order 609 following the harmful district court decision in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. U.S. Food & Drug Administration. Executive Order 609 confirms that the 2022 Shield Law shall be interpreted as protecting access to medication abortion, including mifepristone, further protecting access to this crucial health care across the Commonwealth. The state also purchased approximately 15,000 doses of mifepristone to ensure sufficient coverage in the state for more than a year.

Executive Order 609

Featured Action
I vowed to protect and expand abortion access in Massachusetts – to keep providers and patients seeking care in our state safe. I stand by that promise, and I'll never give up the fight for reproductive freedom.

Governor Maura Healey, Massachusetts

KEY ACTIONS

  • Comprehensive Health and Physical Education
  • Massachusetts
  • Massachusetts
  • July 19, 2024

    Comprehensive Health and Physical Education

    In 2023, The Healey-Driscoll Administration issued a new framework to update the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s guidelines for health and physical education, including gender, sexual orientation, and sexual health education, to ensure that it is LGBTQ+ inclusive, medically accurate, and developmentally- and age-appropriate. The framework was last updated in 1999.

    Sexual and Reproductive Health Residency Program
  • Massachusetts
  • Massachusetts
  • July 19, 2024

    Sexual and Reproductive Health Residency Program

    Funded through a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts (PPLM) now offers, starting January 2024, the first-ever Sexual and Reproductive Health Residency Program for Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants.

    Warnings About Crisis Pregnancy Centers
  • Massachusetts
  • Massachusetts
  • July 19, 2024

    Warnings About Crisis Pregnancy Centers

    The Attorney General’s office issued a warning about fake clinics, so-called “crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs),” encouraging Massachusetts residents to access sexual and reproductive health care from comprehensive reproductive health care providers and to report negative experiences with CPCs to the Civil Rights Division.

    Crisis Pregnancy Center Public Awareness Campaign
  • Massachusetts
  • Massachusetts
  • July 19, 2024

    Crisis Pregnancy Center Public Awareness Campaign

    The Healey-Driscoll Administration invested $1 million in a public awareness campaign around fake clinics, i.e. Crisis Pregnancy Centers, to educate providers and patients about anti-abortion centers’ deceptive practices and their lack of medical services.

    The Reproductive Health Access, Infrastructure, and Security Grant Program
  • Massachusetts
  • Massachusetts
  • July 19, 2024

    The Reproductive Health Access, Infrastructure, and Security Grant Program

    The Reproductive Health Access, Infrastructure, and Security grant program has distributed $4.1 million in grants to support existing abortion providers, develop capacity for providers to begin offering abortion services, and invest in abortion funds. Through this grant funding, seven new clinics were able to begin providing medication abortion services in critical areas of the state.

    Executive Order No. 609: Protecting Access to Medication Abortion Services in the Commonwealth
  • Massachusetts
  • Massachusetts
  • July 19, 2024

    Executive Order No. 609: Protecting Access to Medication Abortion Services in the Commonwealth

    This Executive Order ensures continued access to medication abortion during public health emergencies and confirms that the 2022 Shield Law shall be interpreted as protecting access to medication abortion, including Mifepristone. It also permits qualified healthcare professionals to prescribe and dispense medication abortion through telehealth appointments.

    Private-Public Partnerships to Improve the Quality of Contraceptive Care
  • Massachusetts
  • Massachusetts
  • Private-Public Partnerships to Improve the Quality of Contraceptive Care

    Through the Health Safety Net demonstration fund, with support from MassHealth and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the Healey-Driscoll administration funded Upstream and PICCK for five years to improve the quality of contraceptive care offered by outpatient primary care and hospital-based sites.

    The Massachusetts Abortion Legal Hotline
  • Massachusetts
  • Massachusetts
  • July 19, 2024

    The Massachusetts Abortion Legal Hotline

    The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, the ACLU of Massachusetts, and local advocacy groups and law firms launched the Massachusetts Abortion Legal Hotline, a service providing free legal advice and resources about abortion access and care. In March 2023, the Healey-Driscoll Administration announced a $250,000 investment in the hotline.

    Chapter 127 Guidance
  • Massachusetts
  • Massachusetts
  • July 19, 2024

    Chapter 127 Guidance

    The Massachusetts Department of Public Health developed guidance for public colleges and universities to comply with Chapter 127 of the Acts of 2022 by creating medication abortion readiness plans.

    Amicus Brief in Food and Drug Administration, et al., v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine
  • Massachusetts
  • Massachusetts
  • July 19, 2024

    Amicus Brief in Food and Drug Administration, et al., v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine

    Governor Maura Healey and 21 other governors filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of abortion rights in Food and Drug Administration, et al., v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine. In this brief, the Reproductive Freedom Alliance governors argued that if the Court reverses FDA approval of Mifepristone and limits access to the vital medicine, it could undermine Governors’ ability to provide adequate healthcare services and would have far-reaching implications beyond reproductive healthcare.

    Implementation of Executive Order 609 Guidance
  • Massachusetts
  • Massachusetts
  • July 19, 2024

    Implementation of Executive Order 609 Guidance

    The Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the Board of Registration in Medicine (BORIM) issued guidance to Massachusetts licensed physicians, physician assistants, nurses, pharmacists, pharmacies, hospitals, and clinics confirming protections for medication abortion and miscarriage management under the state’s existing shield law.

    Guidance to Pharmacies
  • Massachusetts
  • Massachusetts
  • July 19, 2024

    Guidance to Pharmacies

    The Massachusetts Department of Public Health issued guidance to all pharmacies in the Commonwealth clarifying that all pharmacies and pharmacy departments are required to stock and/or procure all reproductive health medications, including Mifepristone, and dispense those medications pursuant to a valid prescription and/or order.

    Funding to Stockpile Mifepristone
  • Massachusetts
  • Massachusetts
  • July 19, 2024

    Funding to Stockpile Mifepristone

    The Healey-Driscoll Administration provided $1 million to abortion providers to stockpile mifepristone and purchased an additional 15,000 doses to be stockpiled by the state.

    An Act Expanding Protections for Reproductive and Gender-Affirming Care (H.5090)
  • Massachusetts
  • Massachusetts
  • July 19, 2024

    An Act Expanding Protections for Reproductive and Gender-Affirming Care (H.5090)

    H.5090 ensures the Commonwealth’s ability to protect reproductive health care patients and providers from out-of-state legal action; mandates insurance coverage for abortions and abortion-related care; prohibits insurers from charging cost-sharing amounts for abortions or abortion-related care; allows reproductive health care and gender-affirming care providers to enroll in the Commonwealth’s Address Confidentiality Program, a protective measure against potential harassment and/or threats; and expands access to emergency contraception by establishing a statewide standing order for both over-the-counter and prescription emergency contraception.

    IN THE NEWS

  • See More
  • Governor: Massachusetts didn’t wait for the SCOTUS abortion medication ruling. It protected women’s reproductive rights
  • CNN
  • Massachusetts
  • CNN
  • Massachusetts
  • April 23, 2023 • Maura Healey

    Governor: Massachusetts didn’t wait for the SCOTUS abortion medication ruling. It protected women’s reproductive rights

    Maura Healey

    The Supreme Court made the right call with its order last week that mifepristone, a widely used abortion medication, can remain on the market for the time being. Unfortunately, the decision won’t stop attacks on reproductive freedom.

    New Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey Isn’t Messing Around
  • Esquire
  • Massachusetts
  • Esquire
  • Massachusetts
  • April 10, 2023 • Charles P. Pierce

    New Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey Isn’t Messing Around

    Charles P. Pierce

    States that respect a woman’s right to choose are going to have to improvise their way around a very organized anti-choice strategy.

    Massachusetts governor: Pharmacies must stock abortion pills
  • Associated Press
  • Massachusetts
  • Associated Press
  • Massachusetts
  • March 22, 2023 • Steve LeBlanc

    Massachusetts governor: Pharmacies must stock abortion pills

    Steve LeBlanc

    The governor of Massachusetts reminded pharmacies Wednesday that they are required to stock a key abortion pill, despite a nationwide effort by anti-abortion activists to ban the medication.

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