Healey Declares Abortion Law an Emergency, Blocking Opponents’ Bid to Suspend It Until 2028

Gov. Maura Healey on Friday, Nov. 6, declared the state’s new abortion law an emergency measure, a step that put the law into effect immediately and shut off an attempt by opponents to suspend it until voters decide on repeal in 2028. The Healey abortion law emergency declaration was filed with Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin’s office Friday afternoon, the same day the repeal campaign faced its deadline to turn in signatures, according to State House News Service reporting published by WBUR.

The law, Chapter 188 of the Acts of 2026, had been scheduled to take effect on Sunday, Nov. 9. It changes how Massachusetts handles abortions at 24 weeks of pregnancy or later. Instead of the list of specific conditions in the old statute, the law leaves the decision to the professional judgment of the physician, according to WBUR and CommonWealth Beacon. A governor’s spokesperson confirmed that the emergency filing protects the law from any suspension attempt over the next two years, WBUR reported.

What the emergency preamble does

Massachusetts lets voters challenge a newly passed law through a referendum petition. If opponents gather enough certified signatures, the question goes on a future statewide ballot. If they gather a larger number, the law can be frozen until that vote. An emergency declaration changes the order of events: once a law is in force as an emergency measure, it cannot be suspended, though the repeal question can still go to voters. The mechanism comes from Article 48 of the Massachusetts Constitution, which covers the initiative and referendum process.

In her letter, Healey wrote that “any further delay in implementing the Act would prolong uncertainty for patients, families, physicians and health care institutions, and risk further harm to the health and safety of women in Massachusetts,” WBUR reported. She also argued, according to CommonWealth Beacon, that the old exceptions for later abortions had proven “too narrow to account for the full spectrum of high-risk pregnancy complications that can arise later in pregnancy.”

In a Substack post Friday, Healey said “at least nine patients” had been denied abortion care in Massachusetts since she signed the law in August. “The repeal campaign can continue its work, and Massachusetts voters will have their say,” she wrote. “If they choose to repeal the law, we will respect their decision.”

Healey has used this tool before. In 2024 she attached an emergency preamble to the state’s sweeping gun law after opponents gathered enough signatures to suspend it. That law went before voters on Tuesday, and just over two-thirds chose to keep it, according to CommonWealth Beacon. The broader results from this week’s ballot questions are collected on our election tracker.

By the numbers: signatures and thresholds

Sam Miele, chair of the Compassionate Care Coalition, which is led by Massachusetts Citizens for Life and Massachusetts Family Action, said the group dropped off 113,477 signatures certified by local clerks at Galvin’s office on Friday, according to WBUR. The same report put the requirements at 37,289 signatures to place repeal on the 2028 ballot and 49,719 to suspend the law in the meantime. Those signatures have not yet been verified by the state. A spokesperson for Galvin’s office told CommonWealth Beacon that reviewing petition sheets and tallying signatures by county typically takes one to two weeks.

By The Boston Report’s calculation from those figures, the campaign’s filed total is about 2.3 times the suspension threshold and about 3 times the number needed for the ballot. With the preamble in place, the suspension count no longer matters. The ballot count still matters: if Galvin’s office certifies at least 37,289 valid signatures, the repeal question goes to voters in 2028.

The number of abortions the law most directly affects is small. State health officials reported that in 2024, the latest year available, 99 of the state’s 49,450 abortions took place at 24 weeks of pregnancy or later, CommonWealth Beacon reported. By The Boston Report’s calculation, that is about 0.2% of the total.

How supporters and opponents responded

Opponents attacked both the law and the procedure. “The prior abortion law in Massachusetts allowed abortions after 24 weeks if the mother’s life was in danger,” Miele said in a statement quoted by WBUR. “Governor Healey, you must explain to the voters why that is an emergency.” In a phone interview with GBH News, he called the move a “last-ditch effort to undermine the democratic process.” Myrna Maloney Flynn, president of Massachusetts Citizens for Life, wrote that the preamble “reflects an utter disregard” for the governor’s constituents, according to CommonWealth Beacon.

Medical and abortion-rights groups praised the decision. Dr. Rebecca Brendel, president of the Massachusetts Medical Society, said decisions about abortion care later in pregnancy should rest on “scientific evidence, established standards of care, and circumstances unique to our patients,” WBUR reported. Kathleen Melendy, Massachusetts state director of Reproductive Equity Now, said the governor “took decisive action to address this public health emergency.” Sheila Ramirez of the Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund of Massachusetts told CommonWealth Beacon that voters “will get the chance to affirm this at the ballot in 2028.”

The fight comes days after Healey won a second term. How she and her Republican challenger made their cases during the campaign is laid out in our guide to the Healey-Minogue governor debates.

What happens next

The law is now in force. Galvin’s office will review the petition sheets over the coming weeks and decide whether the repeal question has enough valid signatures. If it does, the question is expected to appear on the November 2028 ballot, setting up a statewide vote on the law two years after it took effect. Until then, physicians in Massachusetts can perform abortions after 24 weeks based on their professional judgment under the new statute. For more coverage from Beacon Hill and around the state, see our Massachusetts news page.

Sources

• WBUR (State House News Service): Gov. Healey takes emergency action to block effort to suspend abortion law
• CommonWealth Beacon: Healey move puts abortion law into effect early
• GBH News: Healey takes emergency action to implement new Mass. abortion law
• Boston Globe: Healey puts abortion law into effect, blocking suspension effort
• Massachusetts Legislature: Massachusetts Constitution (Article 48)