Massachusetts lawmakers pass bill removing all restrictions from abortion throughout pregnancy
Massachusetts Senate and House passed Bill H.5595 to eliminate all abortion restrictions after 24 weeks, allowing the procedure based on a physician’s professional judgment. The measure would make Massachusetts the 11th U.S. state to have no limits on abortion, pending Governor Maura Healey’s signature. Catholic bishops and pro‑life groups condemned the bill, calling it immoral and urging prayer for a renewed reverence for life. The bill replaces current limits that allow late‑term abortions only to preserve the mother’s life or health or if the fetus has a fatal condition.
2 months ago
Massachusetts lawmakers have approved a bill that would eliminate all state-imposed limits on abortion, allowing the procedure at any stage of pregnancy based solely on a physician’s professional judgment. The measure now awaits Governor Maura Healey’s signature and has sparked sharp criticism from pro‑life groups and the state’s Catholic bishops, who label the proposal “radical” and “immoral.” 1 2
The Massachusetts Senate passed Bill H.5595 on July 31, following a similar vote by the House a week earlier. If Governor Healey signs the bill, Massachusetts will join eleven states that impose no legal limits on abortion. 1 2
With Massachusetts potentially becoming the 11th state to eliminate abortion limits, the bill highlights the growing divide between states adopting permissive abortion policies and those maintaining stricter regulations, a split that continues to shape national political and cultural debates. 1 2
How does Catholic teaching address state abortion policy?
Catholic teaching addresses state abortion policy by combining (1) an unchanging moral judgment about the act of abortion itself and (2) a political-juridical principle about what civil law must protect—namely the inalienable right to life of every human being, especially the unborn—along with (3) a serious pastoral insistence that women and families in crisis must receive concrete support.
Catholic doctrine holds that direct abortion—abortion “willed as an end or as a means”—is a grave moral disorder because it is the deliberate killing of an innocent human being.
It also teaches that:
Accordingly, Catholic teaching does not treat abortion policy as a matter of mere regulation or “choice” to be weighed against other goods; it treats it as a matter of whether a state will protect the fundamental right to life or instead authorize a protected class of killing.
The Church’s reasoning about public policy is not only moral (what people should do), but also constitutional/juridical: the unborn’s right to life is a constitutive element of civil society and must be safeguarded by law.
A key point is stated in the Church’s clarification from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which reiterates Donum Vitae:
The inalienable right to life “is a constitutive element of a civil society and its legislation.”
When positive law deprives a category of persons of protection it should provide, “the state is denying the equality of all before the law.”
Therefore, “as a consequence of the respect and protection… the law must provide appropriate penal sanctions” for deliberate violations of the unborn’s rights.
So, in Catholic teaching, state abortion policy is evaluated in terms of whether it:
The Church’s position leads to clear implications for abortion laws:
In short: Catholic teaching does not treat abortion authorization as a neutral legislative choice; it treats it as a failure (and a direct contradiction) of what civil authority is for—the protection of the vulnerable and the common good through respect for fundamental rights.
At the same time, Catholic teaching explicitly refuses to reduce the issue to slogans about condemnation. It states that women facing serious difficulty must be accompanied, because abortion becomes tempting as a “quick solution” when people feel anguish, isolation, or lack of support.
Pope Francis summarizes the logic in Evangelii Gaudium:
Similarly, in a 2019 address connected to “Yes to Life!”, Pope Francis emphasizes that:
Catholic teaching also holds together two truths: abortion is gravely wrong, and God’s mercy can reach repentance.
For the public/legal dimension, Catholic teaching maintains that the seriousness of the crime is reflected even in canonical discipline (e.g., excommunication for those who procure abortion), underscoring that the Church does not treat it as merely a regrettable private choice.
Catholic teaching addresses state abortion policy by insisting that direct abortion is intrinsically gravely wrong and cannot be justified by law, circumstance, or good intentions, and by grounding civil authority’s duty in the inalienable right to life of the unborn—a duty that includes appropriate legal protection and, where deliberate violation occurs, penal sanctions—while also demanding robust pastoral and social support for women and families in crisis so that abortion is not pursued as a “quick solution.”