An Act prioritizing patient access to care
This bill, titled "An Act prioritizing patient access to care," amends Massachusetts state law to change how abortions are regulated. It removes the requirement that abortions must be performed only to preserve a patient's life or health or due to specific fetal diagnoses, replacing those criteria with a standard based solely on a physician's professional judgment. Additionally, the bill prevents any medical review process from overriding a doctor's decision to perform an abortion when a patient or their health care proxy requests it. These changes directly affect physicians, patients, and healthcare facilities by expanding the circumstances under which abortions can be legally provided.
Bill status
signed
all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jul 2026
Committee Review
Jul 2026
House Passage
Jul 2026
Senate Passage
Jul 2026
Signed into Law
Aug 2026
Introduced Jul 22, 2026
Signed Aug 10, 2026
Floor votes · House Jul 22, 2026
How they voted
This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
20
Key actions
7
Committee
3
Amendments
2
Aug 10, 2026
Signed into law
Signed by the Governor, Chapter 188 of the Acts of 2026
executive
Jul 31, 2026
Upper · Passed
Enacted and laid before the Governor
upper
Jul 31, 2026
Lower · Passed
Enacted - 121 YEAS to 35 NAYS (See YEA and NAY No. 262 )
lower
Jul 31, 2026
Upper · Passed
Read second, ordered to a third reading, read third and passed to be engrossed
upper
Jul 31, 2026
Upper · Passed
Committee reported that the matter be placed in the Orders of the Day for the next session
upper
Jul 29, 2026
Committee
Referred to the committee on Senate Rules
upper
Jul 22, 2026
Lower · Passed
Passed to be engrossed - 119 YEAS to 33 NAYS (See YEA and NAY No. 236 )
lower
Jul 22, 2026
Amended
Amendment 1 laid aside
lower
Jul 22, 2026
Amended
Amendment 1 pending
lower
Jul 22, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported from the committee on House Ways and Means
lower
0 primary · 36 co-sponsors
Sponsors
No sponsor information available.
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