Abortion rights
News and features on the legal and cultural fight over abortion in the United States.
Mass. reports dramatic abortion rise in 2024, driven by pills shipped out of state
The number of abortions provided by doctors and nurse practitioners in Massachusetts doubled in 2024, according to the latest numbers from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
More Mass. clinics caught in Trump administration effort to defund Planned Parenthood
Trump administration efforts to defund Planned Parenthood will also cut Medicaid payments to a network of clinics that serve low-income patients in southeastern Mass. Health Imperatives, a nonprofit provider of...
In Mass., volunteers pack thousands of abortion pills destined for states with bans
Huddled around a small conference table in Greater Boston, volunteers form an ad hoc assembly line to slip hundreds of pills into padded envelopes. It's not an illegal drug operation,...
Abortions were up 37% in Mass. last year, driven by patients from other states
Massachusetts saw a substantial increase in abortions in 2023, the first full year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Most of the change can be explained by...
Study: More patients traveled to Mass. for abortions after Supreme Court Dobbs ruling
Massachusetts has seen a small but significant increase in people traveling to the state for an abortion since the Supreme Court allowed states to limit access to or ban the...
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How the Dobbs abortion decision is playing out in Massachusetts, one year later
Massachusetts has not experienced much of the political turmoil triggered by the U.S. Supreme Court's Dobbs decision, which ended the constitutional right to an abortion. But the state is feeling...
As N.H. Republicans ready for primary, Democrats work to push abortion rights to center of campaign
This push comes in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson ruling, which struck down a constitutional right to abortion. It also coincides with historic political tension...
As college students return to Massachusetts campuses, they'll find new abortion care options
A new state law ensures public college and university students in Massachusetts have access to medication abortion through the school's own health services, like on campus at UMass Amherst.
Reps. Clark, Pressley arrested outside Supreme Court at protest over abortion rights
Massachusetts U.S. Reps. Katherine Clark, Ayanna Pressley and over a dozen other House Democrats were arrested Tuesday for blocking traffic at a protest outside the Supreme Court criticizing the ruling...
Mass. insurers will cover abortion travel costs for members
Tufts, Harvard Pilgrim, and Blue Cross are promising to cover travel and lodging costs for members who live in states where abortion is restricted.
Advocates urge crowd funding, not couch surfing, to help people traveling for an abortion
Informal offers to host people seeking abortions have sprung up on social media since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, but so have stern warnings not to accept —...
Gov. Mills: Maine won't help prosecute abortion seekers, providers
Mills signed an executive order prohibiting state agencies from cooperating in another state's investigation into people, groups or health care providers over abortions or other reproductive health care that was...
House Democrats roll out reproductive rights bill in Mass.
Representatives on Beacon Hill could vote as soon as Wednesday on a reproductive care access measure responding to last week's seismic U.S. Supreme Court decision ending a constitutional right to...
Mass. anti-abortion groups celebrate Roe's overturn, while abortion rights advocates plan protests
Massachusetts advocacy groups on both sides of the abortion debate reacted swiftly to the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Scenes across the country after Supreme Court overturns constitutional right to abortion
Activists against and supporting abortion rights both demonstrated outside the Supreme Court on Friday after the justices announced their expected decision to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade case that...
Justice Dept. 'will use every tool at our disposal to protect reproductive freedom,' attorney general says
Calling the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade “a devastating blow to reproductive freedom,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department will work to enforce laws and...
States move quickly to ban or restrict abortions following the Supreme Court ruling
With the Supreme Court's anticipated ruling in the Dobbs case, declaring that abortion is not a right protected by the constitution, several states are moving swiftly to enact long-planned bans...
22 states are poised to ban or restrict abortion. Others moved to protect access
Twenty-two states are poised to immediately ban or acutely curtail access to abortions with the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Baker signs order protecting abortion providers; Mass lawmakers decry Roe decision
Abortion in Massachusetts and the rest of New England is likely to remain legal. In Massachusetts, abortion is legal through 24 weeks of pregnancy, under state law.
Mass. Senate moves to protect abortion providers from out-of-state court judgments and investigations
The protections would apply to anyone caring for or aiding transgender patients as well. However, some legal scholars say Massachusetts is wading into complex and murky territory.