Massachusetts governor signs executive order to safeguard emergency abortion care and broaden protections

BOSTON — Governor Maura Healey signed an executive order on the two‑year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision reaffirming that Massachusetts will ensure access to emergency life‑saving health care, including abortion, and directing state agencies to make explicit insurers’ and providers’ obligations.

"It was a really bad decision. It was a really dark day for America," Healey said at a State House event marking the anniversary. "We will protect it. We will defend it." The order, she said, is part of a "whole of government" approach to preserve reproductive freedom in Massachusetts.

The executive order lists three core points: that people in Massachusetts will have access to emergency life‑saving health care including abortion; that the Department of Public Health and the Division of Insurance will clarify through regulation and guidance insurers’ and providers’ obligations to provide emergency abortion care; and that the state will continue to ensure protections for reproductive freedom and choice.

Dr. Robbie Goldstein, commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, reaffirmed hospitals' legal duties, saying failure to provide abortion care when necessary to preserve a patient’s life or prevent serious harm "is a violation of state statutes and regulations and federal requirements, and it will result in disciplinary action." He noted DPH guidance issued in January and a recent public campaign calling out anti‑abortion centers for providing misleading information.

Attorney General Andrea Campbell said state attorneys general are coordinating nationally to defend medication and emergency abortion access, filing briefs with the courts and leading a national working group on reproductive rights. "This issue is not merely about abortion care," Campbell said. "It’s about one's right to have a child or not to have a child and the right to parent children in a safe and healthy environment."

Speakers also described state investments and programs intended to support access. The administration cited a $1,000,000 investment for providers and grassroots organizations, a proposed additional $2,000,000 in the budget, regional expansion of medication‑abortion access programs (Western Massachusetts, Southeastern Massachusetts, and the Cape and Islands), a MassHealth doula program that covers abortion support, and other grants to strengthen infrastructure and security.

Rebecca Hart Holder, president of Reproductive Equity Now, said the administration and partners have secured "nearly $20,000,000 for abortion access in the state budgets" over recent years, and described administrative steps taken to increase access, including stockpiling 15,000 doses of mifepristone and launching a $75,000 statewide ad campaign to promote an attorney hotline for patients and providers.

Valerie Fleischmann of the Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association pledged hospitals’ continued readiness and support for patients and providers, calling abortion and gender‑affirming care "health care." Senator Cindy Friedman, speaking for Senate leadership, described past legislative steps including requiring insurer coverage for fertility preservation and funding for reproductive health services.

During a question period, Healey said the state will not use personnel, funds or enforcement resources to enforce out‑of‑state abortion bans: "Absolutely not. I won't put one dime or any energy or effort or personnel into enforcing laws that are a direct violation of freedom and women's freedom and autonomy," she said. Commissioner Goldstein clarified that the department's guidance applies to stages of pregnancy that are legal under Massachusetts law and the state constitutional context, and that the guidance sets out providers' and facilities' obligations.

The executive order does not change federal law or other states’ statutes; speakers framed the action as a state effort to clarify obligations, shore up protections, and provide operational support to providers and patients. The administration said it will retain the stockpile of medication abortion supplies as a precaution while awaiting further federal and judicial developments.

The governor closed by thanking providers and legislative partners and saying the administration would continue to work with insurers, hospitals and advocates to maintain access. No formal vote or legislative enactment was announced at the event; the order is an executive action implemented through agency guidance and regulation.