The Danger to Women’s Health
Chapter 188 removed the long-standing requirement in Massachusetts that late-term abortions (after 24 weeks) take place in a hospital equipped with obstetrical services. The elimination of this requirement poses a severe and documented threat to maternal health.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the risk of pregnancy-related mortality increases significantly with advancing gestational age. During late-term pregnancies, the maternal mortality rate associated with abortion is remarkably higher than early first-trimester procedures. When severe complications such as uterine perforation, hemorrhage, or amniotic fluid embolism occur during a late-term procedure, immediate access to an intensive care unit (ICU), emergency blood transfusions, and specialized obstetrical surgeons is the difference between life and death.
By allowing these high-risk procedures to occur in outpatient clinics that lack life-supporting hospital infrastructure, Chapter 188 places women in grave danger. Tragic precedents exist nationwide where women have suffered fatal complications during late-term clinic abortions because emergency transport to a hospital took too long. Furthermore, medical research consistently indicates that when a mother’s health is in crisis during the third trimester, it is generally safer for her to deliver the baby early—such as via induced labor or emergency C-section—than to undergo a multi-day late-term abortion procedure.
Viability and the Value of Life
At 24 weeks of gestation, a child is undeniably viable. They have a beating heart, brain waves, and can feel pain. Modern neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) routinely save premature infants born at 24, 23, and even 21 weeks. These are not mere “clumps of cells”; they are fully formed, innocent human beings capable of sustained life outside the womb.
Prior to Chapter 188, Massachusetts law recognized the humanity of these viable infants, restricting late-term abortions only to extreme medical emergencies. The new law completely strips away these protections, allowing the intentional termination of a child’s life up until the very moment of birth, based solely on a provider’s broad professional judgment rather than strict medical necessity.
We believe every human life possesses inherent dignity and deserves legal protection. The most helpless and innocent among us should not be subjected to a horrific death when they are entirely capable of surviving and thriving. The repeal of Chapter 188 is a necessary step to restore the fundamental right to life for viable infants in Massachusetts.
