Massachusetts Democrats are once again pushing for legislation that would expand late-term abortions and allow the killing of infants born after a failed abortion, this time through an amendment to the state budget.
Democrat lawmakers in Massachusetts had pushed for such measures through the ROE Act (Act to Remove Obstacles and Expand Abortion Access), which would eliminate all restrictions on abortions in the state, permitting abortions up to nine months of pregnancy, even in the absence of life-threatening conditions for the mother. The bill was criticized for putting sexual-abuse victims at increased risk, as it eliminated the state’s requirement for parental consent. The ROE Act also would eliminate the requirement to provide medical care to a baby born alive after a failed abortion.
Since the ROE Act has been stuck in a state legislative committee for more than a year, state Democrat leaders are now pushing for an amendment to the state budget to pass the legislation instead. State Representative Claire Cronin, co-chair of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary, filed Amendment 759 to House Bill 5150, which is scheduled for debate this week.
Pro-abortion lawmakers are renewing the push because of concerns that a conservative U.S. Supreme Court will overturn Roe v. Wade.
Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo (D) said as much in a statement announcing a vote on the amendment.
“Following last week’s joint statement with Senate President [Karen] Spilka [D], in which we expressed concern over the threat to women’s reproductive rights on the national level, it is urgent that the House take up an immediate measure to remove barriers to women’s reproductive health options and protect the concepts enshrined in Roe v. Wade,” DeLeo said.
DeLeo’s announcement came after he warned other House legislators not to attach major policy measures to the budget bill, according to Breitbart News. DeLeo justified breaking his own rule by saying the ROE Act amendment is “urgent.”
But the state’s Republican leaders slammed DeLeo’s hypocrisy.
“Speaker DeLeo just finished saying that the commonwealth’s critical overdue budget would be free from radical policy overhauls only to turn around and use that same budget-making process to push through this despicable legislation,” Massachusetts Republican Party Chairman Jim Lyons said, “and that should disgust us all, regardless of party affiliation.”
Lyons also pointed out the irony of the Democrats’ push for the infanticide bill during a “deadly pandemic, where the focus has been about saving lives.”
Three hundred of the state’s pastors have already sent a letter to Governor Charlie Baker’s desk, urging him to veto the legislation.
“In 2019 alone, there were 18,593 abortions performed in the Bay State. How much more ‘accessible’ does the murder of unborn children need to be?” they asked. “Abortion ends the life of a human child and puts the physical, mental and emotional health of women, most especially young women, at risk.”
The pastors also dismissed claims that abortion is healthcare.
“The killing of a human being is not healthcare. Healthcare involves medical, physical, and psychological treatment and services that sustain and improve life, not extinguish it,” the pastors wrote.
Predictably, the pro-abortion lobby is claiming the legislation has the necessary support in the state to pass without issue.
“When Massachusetts voters reelected every incumbent who supported the ROE Act and also voted out anti-abortion legislators, they made it clear that they want state lawmakers to remove medically unnecessary barriers to abortion care,” NARAL, Planned Parenthood, and the American Civil Liberties Union said in a joint statement.
But support for late-term abortions has historically been low, including in Massachusetts. A 2019 poll by the Susan B. Anthony List has found that 62 percent of Massachusetts residents remain opposed to late-term abortions. That number includes 49 percent of Democrat and 66 percent of Independent voters, Life News reports. The poll also showed 62 percent of voters support the state law requiring parental consent for an abortion.
Unfortunately, the measure appears to have overwhelming support in the Massachusetts legislature. The state Senate has 36 Democrats compared to just four Republicans, while the state House of Representatives has 127 Democrats and just 31 Republicans. The ROE ACT was sponsored by 22 of the 40 senators and 92 of the 158 representatives, the Christian Post reports.
Still, it’s unclear whether supporters of the amendment have the votes to overcome a veto by Governor Baker, a pro-abortion Republican. According to State House News Service, “Baker has said he supports a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion, but doesn’t necessarily see a need to change the current abortion laws in Massachusetts.”
